Half of a $100,000 salary is being swallowed by rent for some Sunshine Coast workers, with the region ranked among Australia’s 10 most unaffordable rental markets.
The figure was revealed in an analysis by national housing campaign Everybody’s Home, which examined rental affordability across the country.
Those on $70,000 spend 67 per cent of their income on rent, while those on $130,000 spend 39 per cent.
A person earning $40,000 would need to spend 107 per cent of their income, making the median rental unaffordable.
The internationally-accepted benchmark of rental affordability is 30 per cent.
The statistics are indicative of a nationwide housing crisis.
Everybody’s Home spokesperson Maiy Azize says rising rents are costing Australians more of their pay than ever before.
“Our rental crisis isn’t a new phenomenon or a policy shock, it’s a long-term trend that’s been compounding, and there’s only so much renters can afford to pay before they hit breaking point,” she says.
“Essential workers, professionals and even those on six-figure salaries are finding it harder to pay the rent right across the country.”
The housing advocacy group’s latest Priced Out report showed that a worker on $70,000 a year, close to Australia’s median employee income of $74,100, would have to spend more than half their income on the median rental in every capital city.
Ms Azize says the rental crisis is a result of governments walking away from building public housing.
“The solution is actually pretty simple,” she says.
“The federal government needs to build public and community homes at scale.
“While we wait for more public and community housing, the federal government needs to work with states and territories to limit rent increases, improve rental standards and make sure those on the lowest incomes have enough money to live.”
The Australian Council of Trade Unions has urged the government to scale up investment in housing, calling for one-in-10 new homes to be public housing – up from the current rate of one in 50.
Rental data from SQM Research, which Everybody’s Home used in its report, found national advertised rents rose 7.8 per cent in the year to July, driven by a severely low vacancy rate of 1.2 per cent.
Opposition leader Angus Taylor has called on the government to release modelling of how much rents would rise as a result of changes to negative gearing and the capital gains tax.
He continues to claim that rents are forecast to climb as high as 30 per cent, erroneously citing a report from NAB that argued investors in Sydney and Melbourne would need to see yields rise one percentage point.
That would equate to an increase in rents of up to 30 per cent, but only if house prices were unchanged.
NAB has forecast house prices in Melbourne and Sydney to fall by nine per cent this year.
Assistant minister Matt Thistlethwaite backed Treasury forecasts that the tax changes would cause rents to be $2 a week higher than they otherwise would have been.
Homeless outreach success
Eight more people sleeping rough in Nambour have been supported into accommodation since April.
This brings the total number supported through the local homelessness response to 43.
The results follow the state government’s targeted Nambour Homelessness Response, which includes $1million to expand local outreach services, eight new social homes being delivered in partnership with Coast2Bay, and land secured for a future 20-place crisis and transitional accommodation complex.
Member for Nicklin Marty Hunt says more people experiencing homelessness in Nambour are being connected with housing and support, with the Housing Outreach and Mobile Engagement (HOME) team working directly with people sleeping rough and helping identify pathways into temporary or long-term accommodation.
“We know there is no quick fix, but we are getting on with the job – investing in frontline services, delivering more social housing and creating pathways into safe, stable accommodation for people doing it tough,” he says.
The HOME team conducts twice-weekly outreach in Nambour with IFYS, working in areas including Quota Park, Petrie Park and Apex Park in Nambour.
