House prices 'too high for cops, teachers'

ESSENTIAL community workers such as teachers and police face being priced out of most Australian capital cities due to rising house prices, research shows.

A BankWest study shows 78 per cent of the nation's local government areas have average house prices well outside the affordability of police, teachers, nurses, fire fighters and ambulance officers.

The bank deems an area unaffordable if the average house price is more than five times the average annual earnings of a worker.

The percentage of capital city council areas seen as unaffordable is up from 75 per cent in 2009, and 70 per cent in 2005.

"These are the essential workers which Australians rely on every day to provide important services and they face the possibility of being priced out of housing in the communities in which they serve," Bankwest Business chief executive Ian Corfield said.

"This means that many are being forced to rent for longer or buy and face a long commute into work.

"This is particularly evident with the strengthening in the east coast property market in the last 12 months which has stretched affordability for key workers in Sydney and Melbourne."

The research also shows how difficult it is for all first home buyers in capital cities, he added.

Sydney is the most unaffordable city, with the average house price more than eight times the average annual earnings of a what BankWest calls a "key worker".

Peppermint Grove in Perth was the most unaffordable council area, followed by Sydney's Mosman and Woollahra council areas.

Regional areas are much more affordable for the 480,000 Australians working in key community roles, with 65 per cent of council areas deemed affordable, BankWest said.

Tasmania's Brighton, Sorell and Glenorchy City council areas were in the top five most affordable areas, along with Playford and Salisbury in South Australia.

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