A new housing affordability report has found that Western Australia is the most affordable state in the country for tenants and home buyers.

The Real Estate Institute of Australia, with the support of Adelaide Bank, released its Housing Affordability Report this week, revealing that affordability in WA’s housing and rental markets improved on both a quarterly and annual basis in the September quarter 2017.

According to the Housing Affordability Report, the proportion of income required for tenants to pay their rent had decreased from 19.2 per cent in the September quarter 2016 to 17.4 per cent in the September quarter 2017, despite wage growth remaining stagnant.

For those looking to buy their first home, the proportion of income required to meet home loan repayments decreased from 23.8 per cent in the September quarter 2016 to 22.4 per cent in the September quarter 2017.

Only the Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory are more affordable, according to the report.

REIWA President Hayden Groves said WA home buyers and tenants are in a fortunate position.

“Whilst the Perth property market is showing signs of a recovery in 2018, buyers and tenants remain the beneficiaries of the current environment, with a good supply of housing and rental stock to choose from at the more affordable end of the property market,” he said.

“Overall, affordability improved across the nation as red-hot markets in Sydney and Melbourne cool, although in New South Wales home owners still pay an average of 36.1 per cent of their family income on home loan repayments - significantly more than West Australians do.

While the dream of home ownership remains a challenge on the East Coast, it’s very much alive and well in WA,” said Groves.

“With our local market on the cusp of recovering, now is the time for buyers to take advantage of favourable conditions to secure their home before our local WA market becomes less affordable.”

Read more about the Western Australian property market:

Perth property prices gain 1.9% in December quarter

Perth's median house price records modest gain in three months to November

Perth real estate: "We should just hang in there" says David Arnold of Ethos Property