Housing affordability has remained steady in the ACT over the March 2021 quarter despite a national overall decline, according to the Real Estate Institute of Australia (REIA).

The latest REIA housing affordability report shows the proportion of income required to meet loan repayments has increased to nearly 35% nationwide. With this comes a decline in rental affordability, with nearly 25% of income now required to meet median rents.

The average loan size for first home buyers also increased 2.2% for the ACT, and while the number of first home buyers decreased in the Territory over the quarter, first home buyers increased in all states and territories over the past 12 months.

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