As Australia struggles with housing affordability, the average cost of a home has topped A$1m for the first time.

According to data issued this week by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), the average home's value increased by 0.7% from the previous quarter to A$1,002,500 in the March quarter. Many Australians are finding it more and more difficult to afford to purchase or rent a property in some of the world's most expensive cities.

A shortage of dwellings, a rising population, tax breaks for real estate developers, and insufficient funding for social housing, according to experts, are the main causes of the situation. According to the ABS, the most expensive residences are still found in New South Wales (NSW), the state with the largest population, with an average price of A$1.2 million, followed by Queensland at A$945,000.

According to Mish Tan of the agency, the primary causes of the increase were the states of Queensland, South Australia, and Western Australia. The yearly growth rate is reducing, she said, even though the average price of homes increased in the March quarter across all states and territories.

Included in the numbers are all 11.3 million residences in Australia, encompassing all sorts of real estate, from freestanding homes to terrace houses and flats. The Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute's director, Michael Fotheringham, is not shocked that the $1 million milestone has been exceeded. Despite being a strong statistic, he claims that it is the outcome of a nationwide pattern that has been going on for years: property prices are rising faster than salaries, leaving the housing sector "very strained".