If you’ve ever found yourself grumbling about today’s sky-high house prices, you’re not alone. But nothing quite puts things in perspective like a trip down memory lane—or, in this case, a flick through the property pages of 1972.
A recently unearthed page from The Realtor, featuring homes in Sydney’s Northern Beaches, has left Australians gobsmacked at how much the real estate landscape has changed in the past half-century.
In 1972, you could buy a three-bedroom home in Frenchs Forest, Belrose, Beacon Hill, or Allambie Heights for as little as $23,950.
The priciest property on the page? A four-bedroom beauty with ‘room for a pool’ for a mere $44,950.
Fast forward to today, and the median home value in Sydney has soared to over $1.2 million, with many of those same homes now fetching upwards of $2 million.
That’s an eye-watering increase of more than 5,000 per cent—and in some cases, even higher.
Take one Beacon Hill home, for example. Valued at $27,500 in 1972, it sold in 2021 for a staggering $2.55 million.
That’s a jaw-dropping 9000 per cent increase, leaving wage growth in the dust. For context, average wages have risen by less than 2500 per cent over the same period.
Mark Novak, a local real estate expert from Novak Properties, said even the humblest homes from those old listings would now be worth a small fortune.
‘You can see in that photo, there are the little fellas that are just one-level three-bedders, they’re about that $2.2 million mark. And then you can see the two-storey examples; they’re probably at the higher end of that $2.7 million to $2.9 million mark,’ he said. ‘It’s wild.’
It’s hard to imagine now, but even those 1970s prices weren’t exactly pocket change. The average weekly wage in Australia in 1972 was $85.50, or just under $4,500 a year.
That meant buying a modest three-bedroom home would cost about five times your annual salary, with interest rates hovering around 7 per cent.
Compare that to today, where the typical full-time worker earns just under $100,000 annually. With the median house price in Frenchs Forest now at $2.2 million, you’d need to fork out more than 22 times your salary to buy a home in the area.
But is it all doom and gloom? Novak said not necessarily.
He noted that property values have followed a relatively steady trend, doubling every 10 years. While the numbers are bigger, the fundamentals haven’t changed much.
‘The area around Frenchs Forest is a lovely, honest, Australian neighbourhood, where families work hard and care about their community,’ he said.
Many people who bought their homes 50 years ago weren’t especially wealthy, but thanks to the magic of compound growth, they’re now sitting on a goldmine.
Interestingly, many of those homes haven’t changed much on the outside.
‘The houses look the same. I think you’d find the kitchens and bathrooms have been changed, but structurally they’re pretty similar from the outside,’ Novak said.
‘These are those guys where the furniture is the same. The cars are similar. They’ve kept everything. They bought once when they were real young and they never got in and out, or changed it. Whereas our generation and the newer generation, you’re constantly evolving and changing, which costs money.’
For younger Australians feeling priced out of the market, Novak has a tip that might just help: ‘Use your super. First home buyers can use their super, but not many people know that. They can voluntarily contribute to their super above their normal repayments and then pull it out to buy a property so they can save faster,’ he explained.
For more on the First Home Super Saver Scheme, check out the ATO’s website.
Why have prices skyrocketed?
It’s not just nostalgia that makes those old prices seem so appealing. Several factors have contributed to the explosion in property values over the past 50 years:
- Population growth: Australia’s population has more than doubled since the early 1970s, putting pressure on housing supply, especially in major cities.
- Urbanisation: More people want to live in cities close to jobs and amenities, driving up demand (and prices) in places like Sydney.
- Interest rates: While rates were higher in the 1970s, the long-term trend has been downward, making borrowing cheaper and fuelling demand.
- Changing lifestyles: Smaller households, more single-person dwellings, and a preference for home ownership have all contributed to this.
- Government policy: Tax incentives, grants, and planning regulations have all had an impact, for better or worse.
If you bought your home decades ago, you’re probably sitting pretty. However, history shows that property markets move in cycles for those trying to get a foot on the ladder, and there are always opportunities for those who plan carefully and think long-term.
If you’re a first-time home buyer, it’s worth exploring all your options, from government schemes to creative saving strategies.
And if you’re already a homeowner, maybe it’s time to dust off those old photos and marvel at how far you’ve come.
Were you lucky to buy a home in the ‘good old days’? Or are you (or your kids) struggling to break into the market now? Do you have memories of house hunting in the 1970s, or tips for today’s buyers? We’d love to hear your stories, memories, and advice in the comments below!
Also read: Australian family’s $250,000 house deposit nightmare takes an unexpected turn
