The seventh hearing of the Greens-led Senate inquiry into intergenerational housing inequity, held in Perth today, heard evidence of a housing catastrophe with house prices and rents rising multiple times faster than wages or inflation.
Additional evidence to the committee today showed:
- In the last 45 years, we have witnessed a catastrophic decoupling of house prices from wages, with real house prices soaring 350% since 1981 while real wages have increased by just 60%.
- There's been a significant fall in home ownership for people in their late 20s and early 30s resulting in life long renting.
- It now takes 10.6-12.4 years to save for a 20% deposit compared to around 5 years in 1990.
- Homeowners now pay on average 45% of their income on mortgage repayments, well above the 33% benchmark of housing stress.
- Government schemes, such as the 5% deposit scheme, are insufficient to solving the housing crisis and have pushed up prices.
- Life-term renters generally accumulate less wealth and less retirement security, are more likely to rely on commonwealth rent assistance and the age pension, signalling fiscal challenges ahead.
- Lack of affordable housing is a barrier to attracting essential workers within commuting distance of their jobs.
- People in WA are living in vans, tents, and caravans in relatives' driveways. There are families by their hundreds living in cars and under bridges.
- Youth homelessness has risen 32% in the past decade in Perth, while rent has increased by 50% since 2020.
- On average, one young person experiencing homelessness dies every six days in Australia.
- Renters are being left behind, as government policy focuses heavily on home ownership while the National Rental Affordability Scheme has ended.
- There is a chronic and growing shortage of suitable housing for disabled people in WA. Disabled people face even greater barriers to securing a safe and affordable roof over their heads.
- Short-stay accommodation like AirBnB is cannibalising the rental market, with 14 unhosted AirBnBs for every long-term rental available in regional WA.
- WA currently remains the only state in the country that still has no grounds evictions on its rental laws.
- Every year, Western Australia evicts five times more children into homelessness than New South Wales per capita.
- Since WA Labor took office in 2017, more than 3,000 children have been evicted from public housing into homelessness. More than half of all these evictions were First Nations families.
As stated by Greens spokesperson for finance, housing and homelessness and Senator for South Australia, Barbara Pocock:
"Today's evidence is clear: House prices are out of control, rents are out of control, while wages are going backwards. Working hard no longer secures a roof over people's heads.
"In the past 45 years, real house prices have soared by 350%, while real wages have increased by just 60%. We've seen a catastrophic decoupling of housing and wages.
"House prices need to fall if first home buyers stand any chance of getting into the housing market.
"Rents are rising at record rates forcing people to spend much more than 30% of their income just to keep a roof over their heads.
'This housing catastrophe is turbocharging inequality. At the top end, banks, developers, big property investors, and the real estate industry are profiting from disaster, which is ruining the life-chances of millions of young Australians.
"Labor's plans to fix the housing crisis are not touching the sides. After four years of rapidly increasing house prices and astronomical increases in rents, it's no wonder Australians are ditching the major parties.
"In a nation-wide housing catastrophe, we need rent caps and a massive long term boost in public investment in good quality homes, renting them to people at prices they can actually afford."
As stated by Greens spokesperson for Health, Mental Health, Disability Rights, the NDIS and Youth and Senator for Western Australia, Jordan Steele- John
"Across Western Australia, people are sleeping in cars, tents and caravans because they simply cannot find an affordable home. That's the reality of a housing crisis that governments have allowed to spiral for far too long.
"The evidence heard in Perth today makes it crystal clear that renters, young people and disabled people are paying the price for decades of political failure.
"Disabled people are being hit especially hard, with a chronic shortage of physically accessible and affordable housing leaving far too many without a safe place to call home.
"At the same time, short-stay accommodation is stripping long-term rentals from communities across WA. In some regional areas, there are fifteen entire unhosted Airbnbs for every long-term rental available. That's a policy failure.
"This week I heard directly from people at a community forum in Secret Harbour about the impossible choices they're being forced to make. Governments need to start delivering more public and affordable housing, stronger renter protections, and ensure there are homes that people can actually afford.
"The Greens are fighting for a housing system that puts people before property investors, and ensures everyone has access to a safe, secure and affordable home."
