After being hammered for having one of the world’s most expensive housing markets, Australia is seeing a return to more affordable dwellings.

The Housing Industry Association claims that overall housing affordability has reached the “healthiest” levels since 2003. 

The HIA-Commonwealth Bank Housing Affordability Index's June quarter results showed a 1.1% overall improvement, making it 10.6% higher over the year. 

Brisbane and Melbourne were the only two capital cities to record a drop in affordability. 

"It is an encouraging bright spot for an industry that, in terms of current activity, remains a clear area of weakness within the Australian economy," said HIA's chief economist Dr Harley Dale.

He did warn the improvement in affordability is "largely cyclical" and more needed to be done to "address the high and inefficient taxation embedded in housing, especially for new homes."