I came across a fascinating comparison on Reddit that looked at gold prices, median salaries, and Sydney house prices from the 1970s to today.
In 1970, gold was trading at around AU$37 per ounce, compared to about AU$5,200 in early 2025 — a 140x increase over 55 years.
Sydney’s median house price rose from AU$18,700 to AU$1.6 million, a ~86x increase.
Meanwhile, the average annual salary only increased ~23x, from AU$4,196 to AU$98,000.
That wage-to-house price gap is striking:
In 1970, it took 4.5 years of salary to buy a median-priced house. Today, it takes about 16.3 years.
But when you look at gold versus house prices, the picture flips.
In 1970, it took 505 ounces of gold to buy a Sydney home. In 2025, it will take only about 308 ounces.