City Futures Blog

News and research in housing and urban policy, from Australia’s leading urban policy research centre.

City Futures Blog random header image

Entries Tagged as 'Affordability'

Rents can and should be reduced or suspended for the coronavirus pandemic

April 8th, 2020 · No Comments · Affordability, Economy, Government, Housing, Law, Tenancy, Uncategorized

By Chris Martin, City Futures Research Centre. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. The National Cabinet announced a moratorium on evictions just over a week ago in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. As government ministers and commentators have tried to make clear, it’s intended only […]

[Read more →]

Tags:

Australia’s housing system needs a big shake-up: here’s how we can crack this

February 17th, 2020 · No Comments · Affordability, Economy, Finance, Government, Guest appearance, Housing, Housing supply, Tenancy

By Hal Pawson, UNSW; Judith Yates, University of Sydney, and Vivienne Milligan, UNSW. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. Despite two years of housing market cooling in Sydney and Melbourne, Australia stayed near the top of the global unaffordability league in 2019. And with prices rebounding […]

[Read more →]

Tags:··

‘I wouldn’t want to buy even if I had the money.’ The rise of renters by choice

February 10th, 2020 · No Comments · Affordability, Guest appearance, Housing, Tenancy

Image: fizkes/Shutterstock By Alan Morris, University of Technology Sydney; Hal Pawson, UNSW, and Kath Hulse, Swinburne University of Technology. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. The private rental sector has expanded at more than twice the rate of the increase in Australian households in the last […]

[Read more →]

Tags:

As simple as finding a job? Getting people out of social housing is much more complex than that

December 12th, 2019 · No Comments · Affordability, Government, Guest appearance, Housing, Tenancy

By Chris Hartley, Center for Social Impact, UNSW and Kathleen Flanagan, University of Tasmania. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. A private member’s bill, moved by Labor MP Josh Burns, recently called on the Australian government “to help build more affordable homes” in response to the growing homelessness crisis. […]

[Read more →]

Tags:

The First Home Loan Deposit Scheme: Housing affordability action – or just more busy work?

October 31st, 2019 · No Comments · Affordability, Finance, Government, Housing

By Hal Pawson, City Futures Research Centre. The Australian Government has this week revealed the policy details for the First Home Loan Deposit Scheme (FHLDS). From 1 January qualifying first home buyers (FHBs) become eligible for a government guarantee that will enable them to access a mortgage with a 5% deposit rather than the normal […]

[Read more →]

Tags:

Growing numbers of renters are trapped for years in homes they can’t afford

October 21st, 2019 · No Comments · Affordability, Government, Housing, Law, Private rental, Tenancy

By Hal Pawson, City Futures Research Centre. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. Low-income tenants in Australia are increasingly likely to be trapped in rental stress for years. New evidence from the Productivity Commission shows almost half of such “rent-burdened” private tenants are likely to remain […]

[Read more →]

Tags:

Affordable housing lessons from Sydney, Hong Kong and Singapore: 3 keys to getting the policy mix right

September 19th, 2019 · No Comments · Affordability, Guest appearance, Housing, International, Transport, Wellbeing

Image: Bill Roque/Shutterstock By Youqing Fan, Western Sydney University; Bingqin Li, UNSW, and Chyi Lin Lee, UNSW. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. Affordable housing is a critical problem for Australia’s biggest housing markets. Five Australian cities are in the top 25 with “severely unaffordable” housing […]

[Read more →]

Tags:

Private renters are doing it tough in outer suburbs of Sydney and Melbourne

July 31st, 2019 · No Comments · Affordability, Economy, Government, Guest appearance, Housing, Private rental, Sydney, Tenancy, Wellbeing

In low-rent outer suburbs, almost one in six households could not afford to keep their house cool and went without meals. ChameleonsEye/Shutterstock By Alan Morris, University of Technology Sydney; Hal Pawson, UNSW; Kath Hulse, Swinburne University of Technology, and Violet Xia, University of Technology Sydney. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons […]

[Read more →]

Tags:

Build to rent could shake up real estate but won’t take off without major tax changes

July 8th, 2019 · No Comments · Affordability, Construction, Economy, Government, Housing, Housing conditions, Housing supply, International, Law, Private rental, Sydney, urban renewal

By Hal Pawson, City Futures Research Centre. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. In the wake of slumping demand for apartment building, it’s little wonder the multi-unit housing industry has been eagerly eyeing a possible new residential product: “build-to-rent”. In fact, the latest figures show that […]

[Read more →]

Tags:··

Chilly house? Mouldy rooms? Here’s how to improve low-income renters’ access to decent housing

June 5th, 2019 · No Comments · Affordability, Construction, Housing, Housing conditions, Law, Tenancy, Wellbeing

Too many Australians struggle to get their housing maintained and problems fixed. Trevor Charles Graham/Shutterstock By Edgar Liu, Chris Martin and Hazel Easthope, City Futures Research Centre. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. People’s quality of life, their health and their comfort can suffer when living in […]

[Read more →]

Tags: