It is estimated that close to 20,000 households in Australia are struggling due to the unavailability of affordable housing. This has also led to a large number of young couples putting off having children, a study by Australians for Affordable Housing showed.
According to the study, households are grappling with credit card debt to pay their bills, as well as, keeping up with the mortgage or rent.
“Families are choosing between paying the rent and putting food on the table. Young couples are having to choose between having kids or buying a home to raise them in,” the study said.
This is because housing costs now take up a major share of the household budgets, said Sarah Toohey, Australians for Affordable campaign manager.
“Housing is the single biggest household cost in Australia and, over the last 25 years, housing costs have been taking a bigger bite out of the household budgets – up as a proportion of spending by 41 per cent in that time,” she said.
As a remedy to this problem, the Australians for Affordable Housing proposed several measures so that affordable housing options would be available to two out of every three people currently on public and community housing waiting lists, a press release stated.
Proposed measures include increasing the supply of affordable rental housing, improving housing affordability through tax reforms, improving rent assistance, setting benchmarks for all levels of government to deliver affordable housing and the establishment of an affordable housing growth fund that will fund at least 20,000 new low-income rental properties every year.
If implemented, this plan is expected to deliver 30,000 new affordable housing units each year and lift 250,000 households out of housing stress over five years, the statement said.
Babies or bricks?
Meanwhile, a report in the Herald Sun advices young couples to avoid associating financial security with home ownership.
“Today we're living in an era when the growth in housing prices has outstripped the growth in incomes three to one. So if housing doesn't give you financial security, what does? Money does.
“Regardless of where you're at, you don't have to choose between bricks or babies - but you do need to make sure you're financially secure.
“And achieving financial security is a lot easier than buying a home,” the article pointed out.
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