After paying rent, more than half of low-income tenants don't have enough left over for other essentials. And the latest evidence shows nearly half of them are stuck in this situation for years.
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Articles on housing affordability
Displaying 1 - 20 of 166 articles
Record low interest rates will almost certainly drive up property prices. But they will also drive down unemployment and boost investment generally.
Labor's rental affordability scheme had its problems, but let's not throw the baby out with the bathwater.
A coordinated mix of policies does more to keep housing affordable for a significant proportion of a city's residents than the unbalanced approach we see in Sydney.
E-changers are the latest group to move from the big cities to escape high living costs and congestion. But because they remain very productive remote workers some employers are embracing the trend.
The housing aspirations of young Australians change as they enter their late 20s and early 30s. But having somewhere safe and secure to call home is the top priority for all young adults.
Most older Australians want to live in a home they own, preferably in the middle and outer suburbs of a city. But increasing numbers look unlikely to realise their housing aspirations.
The need to manage long waiting lists for social housing, rather than serving the best interests of tenants and prospective tenants, is a major driver of policymakers' approach.
While governments focus on how to ease congestion and make affordable housing more accessible for workers in our biggest cities, fast rail could be a mixed blessing for regional cities.
From Berlin to New York, citizens from around the world have shown that it is possible to get governments to make affordable housing a priority.
The policy focus remains on home ownership, but a new survey shows slight improvements in affordability do little to help people on low incomes. Their plight calls for better social housing policy.
There are more than 1.3 million young Australian voters in NSW, but they feel excluded from traditional politics. To win the youth vote, politicians must address the key issues that matter to them.
It's natural to assume that a downturn in the property market is good news for people who've been priced out of the market. In practice, they might still not be able to buy a home.
Affordability is a problem across Sydney for prospective home buyers. But if they are able to become owners, new research shows affordability becomes much less of a problem over five to ten years.
While share houses are more a matter of financial necessity than choice, many older Australians are discovering it has unexpected social benefits for them.
The thing about new housing is you need land to build it on. Developers are able to control its release at a rate that doesn't put downward pressure on prices.
Short-term letting via digital platforms benefits some in the market at the expense of others. Closer regulation might be needed in Melbourne and Sydney, where a permissive approach prevails.
Governments should stop offering false hopes and pandering to NIMBY pressures. As well as increased public and private housing supply, growing cities need well-designed higher-density development.
Cities overseas that have been able to overcome the affordable housing challenges facing cities like Melbourne have adopted a coordinated and systemic approach to scaling up solutions that work.
A national survey shows councils know much of the housing in their local areas isn't affordable. But providing affordable housing is not a priority because they see it as being beyond their means.
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Top contributors
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Director, Henry Halloran Trust, University of Sydney
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Professor of Economics, School of Economics, Finance and Property, Curtin University
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Associate Director - City Futures - Urban Policy and Strategy, City Futures Research Centre, Housing Policy and Practice, UNSW
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Professor of Urban and Regional Planning, University of Sydney
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Program Director, Master of Urbanism, School of Architecture, Design and Planning, University of Sydney
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Program Director, Household Finances, Grattan Institute
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Head of School, Economics, Finance and Property, Curtin University. Director, Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute, Curtin Research Centre, Curtin University
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John Daley is a Friend of The Conversation.
Chief Executive Officer, Grattan Institute
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Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra
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Emeritus Professor of Housing and Housing Studies, RMIT University
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Director, City Futures Research Centre, Faculty of the Built Environment, UNSW
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Professor of Economics, UNSW
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Visiting Senior Fellow - City Futures Research Centre, Housing Policy and Practice, UNSW
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Lecturer in Urbanism, University of Sydney
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Visiting Professor, University of Ottawa
