Tiny houses aren’t for everyone, but most people who live in them are positive about the experience. Yet planning laws still make this way of life harder and less secure than it could be.
The housing boom increased wealth gains for affluent households while rising housing costs undermined income gains for less affluent households.
Sam Mooy/AAP
Ilan Wiesel, The University of Melbourne; Liss Ralston, Swinburne University of Technology, and Wendy Stone, Swinburne University of Technology
The Productivity Commission neglected the impact of housing costs. After allowing for these costs, the top 10% of households’ average disposable income grew at 2.7 times the rate of the bottom 10%.
Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson argues his housing reforms would increase self-sufficiency.
AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais
The administration’s proposed changes to a decades-old housing program supporting the poorest Americans would jack up rents and deepen poverty in the US.
Rather than tinkering with the deduction, Republicans should get rid of it altogether and replace it with something that would actually help more Americans afford a home.
A tiny house in the backyard appeals to some as a solution that offers both affordability and sustainability.
Think Out Loud/flick
New research has found a marked increase in people, particularly among women over 50, who are building or want to build a tiny house. However, inflexible planning rules often stand in their way.
Add up all the neglected costs of downsizing and retirees have good reason to be wary of making the move.
wavebreakmedia from www.shutterstock.com
Retirees are often urged to downsize to free up suburban properties for the next generation and for higher-density development. What’s being ignored is the costs of moving into a unit or apartment.
A couple of months isn’t enough to say the housing market is cooling.
AAP/ Tracey Nearmy
Even though they don’t consistently have a roof over their heads, the homeless do their best to create a routine, form communities and make a home – just like the rest of society.
How much of co-housing is shared space is up to residents.
Chris Riedy, University of Technology Sydney; Kylie McKenna, University of Technology Sydney; Laura Wynne, University of Technology Sydney, and Matthew Daly, University of Technology Sydney
Older Australians are keenly aware of the housing challenges they face, but most are wary of co-housing due to the negative associations of shared living spaces.
Low-cost housing development on the city outskirts can expose owners to higher costs in the long run.
Paul Miller/AAP
People are taking on larger future risks and costs just so they can buy a house. Increases in new home owners are seen as a positive development, but what if they can’t afford the ongoing costs?
Even properties at the lower end of the market are beyond the means of most people on low fixed incomes.
Tom Rabe/AAP
Only a small proportion of housing is affordable for low-income earners, while people on Newstart or Youth Allowance don’t have any affordable options at all.
The growing numbers of pensioners in private rental accommodation use much of their income to pay for housing.
Alan Porritt/AAP
For the increasing proportion of people living in private rental accommodation who can expect to be dependent on the age pension, the prospects of financial and housing insecurity are grim.
The issue of child poverty and its links to housing costs are not widely acknowledged in Australia.
from www.shutterstock.com
Income poverty statistics tell us relatively little about why Australian children live in poverty, or how to alleviate it. But housing plays a critical part in the problem.
On average, Gen Ys are $50,000 short of the deposit they expect they’ll need to buy their first home.
Lolostock from www.shutterstock.com
Without long-term solutions to the imbalance between incomes and house prices, Gen Ys face a lifetime of renting without the financial and emotional security of home ownership.
Almost one in three older Australians would like to downsize to reduce the demands of maintaining their garden, but many can’t find alternative homes to suit their needs.
Pierdelune from www.shutterstock.com
Professor; School of Economics, Finance and Property, and Director, Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute, Curtin Research Centre, Curtin University
Professor of Social Epidemiology and Director of the Centre of Research Excellence in Healthy Housing at the Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, The University of Melbourne