AUSTRALIA’S housing affordability crisis continues to plague the nation as people struggle day-to-day with rent or with the realisation they may never be able to buy a home. The median low-income renter spends over a third (36 per cent) of their income on rent. About 1 in 5 low-income households are left with less than $250 after paying their weekly rent.”
“With everything rising, it’s super stressful cause (my partner) and I were looking at the possibility of paying $460 a week or something ($230 each) which is just ludicrous. When we first moved out together we were paying $165 each between three of us – $490 total – and that was doable but you put another 100 on top of that – like where do you find that 100? 100 a week stacks up,” 22-year-old McKenzie says.
Renters and home owners are in for an even tougher battle with electricity costs expected to rise by 35% in 2023.
The ABS revealed that in June 2022, a record high of 900,000 people in Australia were working multiple jobs – a clear sign that people are doing whatever they can to keep the money coming. This isn’t sustainable for the physical and mental aspects of the everyday Australian but it’s become part of the reality when it comes to the housing market of today’s society.
Some people are at breaking point now where they’re deciding whether to spend their money on food or rent. Senator David Pocock called on the federal government earlier in the week to make things easier for Australians. “We’re a wealthy country, and it seems to me that people who are in between jobs or studying should be able to live above the poverty line, to actually be able to put food on the table,” Pocock said.