The data tells a confronting story. Between April 1999 and April 2026, Australian housing prices surged by 407 per cent — more than twice as fast as average incomes over the same period. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) data cited in Budget Paper No. 1, median housing prices have climbed from four times average full-time earnings in 1999 to eight times today. The affordability ratio has doubled in just over two decades. Home ownership rates paint an equa