Is there Affordable Housing?

This report aims to examine and show how economic factors and housing policy have affected provision of affordable housing in Dundee from mid 1900’s to present day. It will show evolution of

Affordable housing is slowly becoming not that affordable for the poor in Australia over the last decade, and the price is keep raising. It became a significant concern among a lot of Australians.

This policy brief is prepared to give some insights of the housing affordability problem in Australia. In addition, the paper also suggests some approaches in which the Government should consider in tackling the issue in the Australian context. Housing affordability always

Housing Affordability in Australia has become the focus point for urban planners in recent years. In particular, South East Queensland (SEQ) has experienced significant pressure as the demand for property and affordable dwellings increases and population growth in the region continues. The issue has come to the forefront in discussions for local governments in the region and there is a real need to address the problem of housing affordability. The subject of affordability is complex and is contributed to by a number of factors including the impost created by Council processes, which is the scope of the HAF-T5 Project.

Housing affordability is the relationship between household income and burden of housing costs and is an issue when it prevents population groups from accessing appropriate or secure housing. (3, 4) Australia has seen a severe escalation in rent and house prices that have not been matched by growth of household income. This decline in housing affordability is a result of economic growth, tax incentives for owners and investors, more accessible finance and population growths, which consequently result in an increased demand for housing. (3, 5) Moreover, this is further compounded by land and development limitations that restrict increases in housing

Housing is a national crisis issue and the professional solution has priced itself beyond the reach of the majority of citizens.(Archer) To own a house implies commiting oneself to a mortgage and guaranteed income level for the majority of one’s working life.

Housing affordability has become a bigger problem in Australia over the last two decades. There is a growing fear within the community that young people are being squeezed out of the housing market and may never own their own home. However rents are also on the rise, meaning that housing affordability has the potential to affect a wide range of the community. The main reasons for rising house prices and decreasing affordability are demand outstripping supply, banks lending practices and rising interest rates. While it may not be a good idea for the government to intervene directly in the housing market through policies such as direct subsidies, there are actions they can take to manage the problem, such regulatory measures for financial institutions,

Housing affordability has been one of the most persistent national concerns mainly because housing costs are the biggest expenses in the budgets of most households. A typical American household spends more than a third of its budget on housing while poor and near-poor households commonly devote about half of their incomes to housing (Consumer Expenditure Survey, 2011) .

Thesis statement: Sydney housing prices are unsustainably inflated and are at a real risk of falling.

In this essay we will be discussing the social, political and economic changes that have increased housing debt within the UK in the last 30 years and recent years, to what extent has the debt difficulty caused to some families.

The recent policy regarding the Right to Buy propose to increase the discount under the Right to Buy scheme. This allows social tenants purchase their home at discounts of up to 50% of the value of their home, making home ownership more accessible (Brill, 2012). In addition, the Right to Buy sales make a major contribution to increase home ownership. There is an increase in the list number of people wanting accommodation. Therefore, it is worth to consider whether this has been one of the key drivers in recent changes in the UK housing system. The aim is making the housing system more affordable, for people on low income to be able to afford to buy their social housing and become home owners (Pattison, 2010). The increase demand of council housing of people with low income has brought about the recent changes in policy. It will also be the key driver of policy change in the

Housing affordability has once again appeared on the policy agenda of Australian governments. House prices have risen in response to booming demand and constraints on the supply of dwellings, especially a shortage of land in the capital cities and skill shortages within the housing industry. Many young and low-income households have experienced great difficulty in gaining access to homeownership and in being able to afford private rental housing. This paper briefly considers the characteristics of public debate around housing affordability in Australia. It examines the role of neo-liberalism in shaping policy responses to housing affordability problems and assesses the argument that affordability goals can be achieved through manipulation of

For all mankind, the most central basic need of all is housing. Like most items, housing comes with a price tag attached, high standards equate to high costs too. This leads down to two fundamental issues of quality and access. Usually quality includes some significant downfalls for others, that is the associated cost and this limit access as fewer will be able to gain access to good quality housing. Numerous households will lack adequate income to gain access to good quality housing (King, 2009). This is where the government has stepped in to provide subsidies to bridge that gap, guaranteeing that all citizens have equal opportunity to gain access to good quality housing. The 1919 Housing Act commonly known as the “Addison Act” kick started the government subsidies to help finance the construction of housing provisions soon after the First World War, with further similar Acts which followed (UK Parliament, 2015). On the other hand, not merely government subsidies help to build, maintain and improve, or cover the household costs. There are other different sources, such as private finance from financial institutes or mortgage lenders as well as earned income commonly utilized as well (King, 2009). However, this does not mean if something is as vital as housing it’s generally accessible. The shortage of

Housing demand includes household growth, real incomes, real wealth, tax concessions to both owner-occupied and rental housing, concessions to first homebuyers, returns on alternative investments, cost and availability of finance for housing and the institutional structure affecting housing finance provision (Yates, 2008). The growth in the number of households and in real income results in the increased pressure on housing demand.

Affordable housing and housing affordability have become the dominant and debated issues in the housing policy arena all over the world for the last two decades and the term ‘housing needs’ has been replaced by ‘housing affordability’ and has occupied the center of the debate on the provision of adequate housing for all (Quigley, 2004; Swartz and Miller, 2002; Whitehead, 1991).