In the second part of our review of what The Conversation experts have to say about housing, we focus on affordability, social housing and what government can do about a growing crisis.
Housing experts writing for The Conversation largely agree on the government policies that are causing negative distortions in the market and the wider economy. And supply is not the key concern.
The housing supply solution our leaders are advocating will only work if affordability is simply a problem of supply. In fact, Australia is almost a world leader in rates of new housing production.
Weak state policies, which lack clear targets and mechanisms for providing more and better affordable housing, are part of the problem. Victoria still doesn’t have an affordable housing strategy.
Building better, inclusive cities involves enabling the wise use of public land and taxes to ensure that high-quality housing and amenities are provided for all at a lower cost.
What if there was a middle option between retention and abolition that made negative gearing work better? There are multiple ways to improve accountability for this $8 billion-a-year tax concession.
The Hollywood flick recalls subprime’s role in the 2008 financial crisis, but, by helping more low-income households buy a home, the loans can help ease the affordability crisis and homelessness.
About a quarter of all renters are spending at least half of their income on housing, and the situation is projected to get much worse over the next decade.
As Glasgow’s most famous tower blocks are razed, we’re again being asked to celebrate destruction of old notions of housing provision. We should treat it as a different opportunity entirely.