Latest NewsComfortable City Living Needs Big BucksMonday, 06 February 2017

To live in Sydney and be comfortable you need an annual salary of about $100,000 and an inner city or beachside home close to work, the city's residents believe.

A survey of the opinions of 304 Sydneysiders shows living near the harbour or CBD is a top priority, even though affordability is falling.

"Sydney is still very much a harbour and beach city with a clear attraction to regions of Sydney near the water or close to the CDB, but it's a dream that's slipping away," the head of the Sydney Business Chamber Patricia Forsythe said.

The survey conducted for the chamber shows 60 per cent of respondents believe living in the nation's biggest city is less affordable than a year ago while a further 16 per cent say it's "very unaffordable".

Rents and mortgage payments were unaffordable or very unaffordable for 54 per cent.

But most - 68 per cent - still want to live in the pricey eastern suburbs, trendy inner west, beautiful northern beaches or upmarket north shore.

Only 27 per cent want to live in the family-minded western, north west, south and south west suburbs.

And 85 per cent think an individual needs to earn at least $50,000 and as much as $150,000 to live comfortably in the nation's biggest city.

"The challenge for the government is to deliver more affordable housing in these areas and also to make the outer suburbs more attractive through job creation and cutting commuting times to employment areas," Ms Forsythe said.

Some 90 per cent of Sydneysiders catch public transport to get to work - a tiny one per cent use a bicycle - with most taking about 40 minutes to make a one-way journey.

According to Residex, the median two to three bedroom Sydney house price is $651,000, against $462,000 for London and $460,000 in New York.

The average annual salary for a working Australian is about $66,000, Australian Bureau of Statistics data show.

The latest Sydney Business Chamber Citypoll survey was conducted online.

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