Wake up call to governments – the time for action is now
Australians are missing out on affordable housing according to the COAG Reform Council’s report released today.
We at AAH think it’s time for action.
Commonwealth, States and Territories must redouble their efforts to deliver affordable housing programs given the COAG Reform Council indication of a significant failure to deliver on promised commitments in critical areas of housing. Continue reading »
After the stimulus, affordable housing will decline
In the decade from 2001 to 2010 Australia grew by over 1 million households, but lost 5,308 social housing properties.
This is contributing to housing stress in the rental market, where one in four renters are in housing stress.
While the Federal Government’s Nation Building Stimulus gave a much-needed boost to social housing, this funding is set to run out next year. Continue reading »
High housing costs force troubling trade offs
The high cost of housing is forcing families to make troubling trade-offs, including delaying having children because they can’t get into home ownership or secure rental housing.
Reports of house prices and economic fears driving Victoria’s fertility rate to the lowest in the nation indicate that the housing crisis has wide reaching ramifications.
The problem of housing affordability is indeed a wide-reaching one.
New report on housing stress
New research shows that more than one in ten households face housing stress.
Australians for Affordable housing commissioned the National Centre for Social and Economic Modelling (NATSEM) to update rates of housing stress across the country.
The report, entitled Housing Costs Through the Roof: Australia’s Housing Stress shows how housing stress plays out in each state.
Nationally, 850,000 households are at risk of financial hardship and poverty after paying for housing costs.
To download the full report, with statistics on each state, click the link below.
Housing costs are the single biggest concern for insecure workers
A survey conducted by the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) reveals that housing costs are the single biggest concern for workers in insecure employment, reinforcing the need for action on affordable housing.
I delivered a speech at the Anti Poverty Week Roundtable today hosted by the Australian Services Union Conference examining the housing stress and financial hardship that insecure work and high housing costs can create.
Young people delaying home purchase puts pressure on the rental market
The State of Australian Cities 2011 report findings that show young people are staying in the family home or joining share houses shows just how unaffordable housing has become.
Housing must be considered as an important part of our infrastructure, and more supply in the low-cost rental market was imperative to improve housing affordability.
Rents push households to crisis point
Today we had the Victorian launch of the campaign where we revealed that high housing costs are pushing households to seek emergency relief services for the provision of basics like food parcels and bill payments.
How is housing affordability affecting your state?
On Monday, we released the analysis ‘Australia’s broken housing system’ [linked], revealing that housing costs are not only the biggest cost to household budgets, but also the fastest rising. Housing costs have increased an average of 55% over the last six years.
Housing the biggest cost of living pressure facing Australians
Australians for Affordable Housing (AAH) was launched today at Parliament House to challenge Australian governments to address housing affordability – the single biggest cost of living issue facing Australians.