Housing stress affects people who wish to buy a home, as repayments on the large mortgages now required take an increased percentage of average salaries. Average first home loans in NSW rose 65 per cent in the 10 years leading to 2012. For many workers the repayments on these loans can be over half of their take-home salary.
Housing stress affects renters even more so. Between 2000 and 2010, NSW rents ballooned by 72 per cent (later data was not available). Saving for a house deposit whilst paying such astronomical rents requires a herculean effort. Those in rented accommodation who are not looking to buy face years of uncertainty over their costs and insecure tenure.
Frequently we hear from single parents in Sydney who are working but can’t afford rent, and they are not able to access public housing, due to the shortage of properties. A common story from Melbourne is of families who have had to leave the city and move to the country to find affordable accommodation.
Inner-city communities are hit especially hard by housing stress, due to the highly desirable proximity to jobs and lifestyle options. The impacts of gentrification on established communities has long been recognised; however, with high house prices and rents in areas such as South Sydney, the initial agents of gentrification, young professionals, are now being pushed out as well.
This housing stress has a number of impacts. In a recent publication the Australian Bureau of Statistics highlighted the increased prevalence of over-crowding in communities across Australia, including urban communities and amongst young people. One way of adapting to high prices has been more people fitting into smaller residences, with obvious impacts for those in crowded accommodation and the community more broadly.
Another impact is that our suburbs that were once cherished for their diversity are seeing their communities forced out.
South Sydney, like many similar inner-city communities with a high number of public housing residents, is experiencing increased concentrations of both disadvantage and of wealth and privilege, but the middle is being squeezed out. Without communities to bridge the two, the negative impacts of inequality will become further pronounced.
Whilst the impact of housing stress is felt by many, it is those who are already most disadvantaged who are most affected. As middle-income households move into what was otherwise lower-cost housing, people on lower incomes end up in over-crowding, homelessness, or under-resourced public and community housing.
One of the solutions advocated by Australians for Affordable Housing is for the government to increase investment in social housing. To meet requirements of financial viability, community housing organisations house tenants from a range of backgrounds, though all would otherwise be experiencing housing stress. Rather than only focusing on residents with high and complex needs, as public housing does, community housing provides mixed developments for communities including pensioners, young families and low-wage workers.
For people connected with South Sydney, it is heartening to see a few such projects proposed locally. The Green Square affordable housing development, supported by the City of Sydney, and the North Eveleigh affordable housing development will play a key role in maintaining diversity in these communities.
However, further investment will be required to meet the demand for affordable housing in South Sydney and around the country. Australians for Affordable Housing are calling on the federal government to use the upcoming budget to introduce an Affordable Housing Growth Fund, and much scoping work has been done into how this could be funded through the creation of an affordable housing bond scheme.
The causes of the housing crisis are many and complex, but one thing is clear: successive governments have encouraged housing speculation to prop up other areas of the economy, and they have lost control of house price inflation. For their role in the housing crisis, it’s time to take responsibility and address the hardship that has been created. Solutions to Australia’s housing crisis need to consider how to provide options across the housing spectrum: we need a strong and well supported public housing system, we need affordable rental properties (including that provided by community housing organisations), and we need to address the tax incentives that drive property speculation in the private market.
Joel Pringle is the Campaign Manager of Australians for Affordable Housing.
