PHOTO: Our housing market is great if you’re in it. But experts say if we don’t start to change things the gap between rich and poor will only increase through housing inequity.(ABC News: David Hudspeth)
What can we do with Australia’s property market, with soaring prices and rental shortages in many regional areas of Australia, from WA’s Pilbara to Hobart in Tasmania?
Key points:
- Experts warn housing inequality and intergenerational poverty is increasing in Australia
- They say urgent action is needed to mitigate the COVID-led crisis in housing
- There are calls for a national housing policy involving all levels of government
While more than 60 per cent of Australians own their own home, Australian Bureau of Statistics data shows home-ownership rates for people aged under 40 are declining, part of a trend of intergenerational inequality and a growing gap between the haves and have nots.
Building more houses is often given as the answer to easing housing stress in areas of high demand but it’s not that simple, argue the four housing policy and economic experts the ABC spoke to.
Here are three policy areas they suggest Australia needs to address if we want to solve the housing crisis.
A national housing policy
One housing policy expert said Australia had not had a national strategy since World War II, and the federal government needed to act quickly to form one and not leave it up to the states.
READ MORE VIA ABC
