New data from Corelogic shows there has been no letup in the continued growth in house and rent prices, pushing thousands of Australians to the brink of homelessness and housing stress.
The data from Corelogic released today shows dwelling prices across all Australian capital cities increased dramatically. Despite lockdowns, house prices in both Sydney and Melbourne rose 6.4% and 4.0% respectively in the last quarter.
The annual increase in both of those cities was a staggering 20.9% and 13.1% respectively.
The combined increase across Australian capital cities was a 17.5% increase in dwelling prices and 21.6% in regional areas
Rents have increased by 8.2% over the 12 months ending August, the largest rise in rents since 2008.
Darwin, Perth, Brisbane and Hobart all saw double digit increases in rental prices in the last year with Darwin recording a 23.0% increase, followed by Perth on 15.8%
Kate Colvin from Everybody's Home said rising rents during an economic downturn was inexplicable. Especially given rising unemployment with stay-at-home orders affecting 60% of the population.
"While the economy slows, housing and rent prices continue to soar out of control, locking more and more Australians out of the housing and rental market," Ms Colvin said.
"We know in the coming months that more Australians will continue to struggle financially, yet there will be no relief when it comes to the cost of housing. If prices and rents don't stop rising during a downturn, it's unlikely they ever will unless there is significant intervention from the federal government.
"Only the Federal Government has the power to fix this growing crisis. The number of Australians in need of social housing is increasing and the figures released today shows that number will rise. We need the Federal Government to urgently invest in social housing now.
Data released in June by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare showed that from 2014 - 2020, the proportion of social housing households fell from 4.6 to 4.2 per cent.
An economic downturn coupled with rising house prices and a shortage of social housing will deepen inequality Ms Colvin said.
"Without more social housing, we are denying Australians on low and modest incomes the benefit and opportunity of safe and secure housing.
"Australians cannot lead fulfilling lives of any kind if they don't have access to safe secure housing, If we want people to have jobs and contribute to the economy, we must ensure everybody has a place to call home," Ms Colvin said.
Kate Colvin 0418 103 292
Levi Joule 048 111 2074
