You better get used to Cessnock. 

The spread of the housing affordability crisis in Sydney is forcing hordes of essential services workers, such as nurses, police and teachers to the Hunter, with Cessnock and Maitland among the closest affordable areas to the state capital. 

The statistics come from a University of Sydney report which examined the affordability of Sydney homes from 2006 to 2016. 

Among the findings are that the median price of a home in Sydney increased more than 100 per cent from $400,000 to $900,000 between 2003 to 2016. 

Based on 2016 median prices, an enrolled nurse earning about $57,000 a year would only be able to purchase a home in Cessnock – 150km from any Sydney hospitals. 

The study also found that soaring house prices had pushed thousands of key workers out of the city, with a sharp rise in the number of workers in these industries living in the Hunter (13.6 per cent rise from 2006 to 2016), the Illawarra (10.5) and the Southern Highlands (17).

It’s been reflected by a sharp drop in the amount of teachers, nurses and emergency services living in key Sydney areas – with Parramatta losing 21.4 per cent of their key workers, followed by the eastern suburbs (-15.2 per cent) and the inner south west (-14.6 per cent). 

Other findings from the report illustrated why many key workers were leaving the rat race of Sydney for the Hunter. 

The report also found that saving times for a house deposit had blown out between 2006 to 2016, with many key workers needing approximately 13 years to save a 20 percent deposit for a median priced home in inner Sydney in 2016, compared to 8.4 years based on median prices in 2006.

A senior constable in the NSW Police would only be able to afford to buy in five of 18 outer Sydney local government areas, the closest being Penrith and Campbelltown.

Outside of Sydney, a senior constable can only afford to buy in the Blue Mountains, Gosford, Wyong, Wollongong, Shellharbour, Cessnock, Lake Macquarie, Newcastle, Port Stephens and Maitland.

Parliamentary Secretary for the Hunter Scot MacDonald welcomed the report, saying that it spelt opportunity for Cessnock. 

“Sydney will always have pressures, but this presents an opportunity for Cessnock to sell itself,” Mr MacDonald said.

“Cessnock has an affordable lifestyle with an abundance of attractions - space, great education at a primary, secondary, vocational education and tertiary levels; good sports and culture infrastructure; enviable community; access to one of Australia's premier wine regions; an hour away from beaches and NSW’s second largest city that is enjoying a renewal and renaissance.”

“I encourage Cessnock City Council, tourism bodies and real estate groups to get on the front foot and reenergise their marketing strategies. Turn this media attention into a strong positive for Cessnock.