Dr Andrew Wilson spoke at the Real Estate Institute of NSW roadshow at the Commercial Club yesterday and said people encounter different problems in saving for a home depending on where they are located.

Off the back of comments by Treasurer Joe Hockey telling first home buyers to “get a good job that pays good money”, the senior economist for the Domain Group said it was “clear” a good income was important in buying a house.

“You need a good income to save for a deposit and repay your mortgage, that is the key of owning your own home,” Dr Wilson said.

“The question is how difficult it is to get a job that gives you capacity to save for deposit and pay mortgage for first-home buyers.”

Dr Wilson said while there is plenty of work in Sydney, the problem there is property prices are increasing by $200-$300 a week.

This means, people pay more for rent while they are saving and those who are saving need to up their amount each week to keep up with the price rise.

Meanwhile in Melbourne and Brisbane, the problem isn’t about keeping up with price growth but rather finding a job.

He said once you factor in HECS debts, it became very difficult to get a deposit.

“It’s no wonder we have the lowest proportion of first home buyers, only 7 per cent of loans being taken out in NSW are first home buyers — that is nearly an all-time low,” he said.

“With low interest rates it’s also very frustrating, incredibly low rates mean people can afford repayments, but getting the deposit together is so difficult.”

As for Albury, he said the city is under-performing with a high unemployment rate and needed a “leg up”.

“Decentralisation is part of the solution, you can buy three Albury homes for one Sydney home, it has a good lifestyle and a strong commercial centre,” he said.

“There need to be things to encourage flexi-time or telecommuting so people can move to regional centres, pay much less for property, enjoy rural lifestyle and get into the property market.”