Invest
Does Australia need to provide lower-cost housing?
A growing number of Australians are being forced to live in high-density apartments, which is having an impact on future prosperity and cohesion of Australian cities, research has found.
Does Australia need to provide lower-cost housing?
A growing number of Australians are being forced to live in high-density apartments, which is having an impact on future prosperity and cohesion of Australian cities, research has found.
The Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute (AHURI), along with UNSW Sydney has found that while just 10 per cent of the population live in apartments, it is over-represented by lower-income Australians.
“Lower-income apartment residents often have less choice and influence over the housing or location in which they live, and fewer resources available to respond to challenges that arise,” said lead author of the report, Associate Professor Hazel Easthope from UNSW Sydney.
“There is a lot of room for further innovation in the design, delivery and management of apartment buildings and neighbourhoods to improve quality of life for residents.”
The report explained that it is especially important to provide good quality shared spaces, as “lower-income apartment residents often live in buildings with few shared spaces, so the public-shared spaces in their neighbourhoods are at risk of overuse”.
Having access to local community facilities and spaces – such as libraries, community centres, parks – is essential for apartment residents on lower incomes, as they are less likely to be able to afford to use other commercial spaces such as cafes.
The research looked at four case studies of areas that have seen large-scale apartment development in Sydney and Melbourne and examined how these areas catered to the needs of lower-income residents. It found that one factor contributing to different outcomes was how well the urban redevelopment was coordinated by government agencies.
Across the case studies, infrastructure to support redevelopment was delivered in a more timely way where government agencies were proactive in engaging with developers to coordinate the redevelopment.
The pressure on planning authorities to ensure developments are both publicly beneficial and privately profitable is challenging.
While there was evidence of positive development outcomes, there was also evidence of speculative activity and inflated property values driving displacement, and developers overpaying for land then reducing quality to recoup costs.
About the author
About the author
Property
Major bank offers $1 insurance for first home buyers
A big four bank subsidiary is offering first home buyers a $1 lender’s mortgage insurance as it looks to support first home buyers. ...Read more
Property
HomeBuilder appears to be working: Here’s why
Preliminary data is suggesting that the HomeBuilder scheme is doing what it was intended to do – secure jobs and inject confidence back into the economy. ...Read more
Property
Unit sales fall as COVID-19 sets in
Investors in Australia’s two largest cities are starting to see the impact of COVID-19, with up to a third of owners selling for less, new research has revealed. ...Read more
Property
Hot Property: Biggest headlines from the week that was
Australia has reached a new crossroad when it comes to the COVID-19 crisis, both for health and economic reasons: Here are the biggest property stories from this week. ...Read more
Property
Has the HomeBuilder stimulus package worked?
Homebuilders are snapping up properties as the Morrison government’s controversial HomeBuilder scheme helps lift interest in the property market, latest stats have revealed. ...Read more
Property
5 ways to use COVID-19 to your property-buying advantage
With the recent revelation that Millennials believe the COVID-19 crisis has made their goals of property ownership more likely to be realised, there are a number of ways would-be buyers can take advan...Read more
Property
Why is Melbourne property falling more than everywhere else?
The fallout from COVID-19 has seen Melbourne property markets fall by 2.3 per cent, making it the worst-performing capital city, new research has shown. ...Read more
Property
More power to Millennials as property ownership proves possible
Nearly half of home-buying Millennials believe the COVID-19 situation has actually made home ownership a more achievable goal. ...Read more
Property
Major bank offers $1 insurance for first home buyers
A big four bank subsidiary is offering first home buyers a $1 lender’s mortgage insurance as it looks to support first home buyers. ...Read more
Property
HomeBuilder appears to be working: Here’s why
Preliminary data is suggesting that the HomeBuilder scheme is doing what it was intended to do – secure jobs and inject confidence back into the economy. ...Read more
Property
Unit sales fall as COVID-19 sets in
Investors in Australia’s two largest cities are starting to see the impact of COVID-19, with up to a third of owners selling for less, new research has revealed. ...Read more
Property
Hot Property: Biggest headlines from the week that was
Australia has reached a new crossroad when it comes to the COVID-19 crisis, both for health and economic reasons: Here are the biggest property stories from this week. ...Read more
Property
Has the HomeBuilder stimulus package worked?
Homebuilders are snapping up properties as the Morrison government’s controversial HomeBuilder scheme helps lift interest in the property market, latest stats have revealed. ...Read more
Property
5 ways to use COVID-19 to your property-buying advantage
With the recent revelation that Millennials believe the COVID-19 crisis has made their goals of property ownership more likely to be realised, there are a number of ways would-be buyers can take advan...Read more
Property
Why is Melbourne property falling more than everywhere else?
The fallout from COVID-19 has seen Melbourne property markets fall by 2.3 per cent, making it the worst-performing capital city, new research has shown. ...Read more
Property
More power to Millennials as property ownership proves possible
Nearly half of home-buying Millennials believe the COVID-19 situation has actually made home ownership a more achievable goal. ...Read more
More articles
Website Notifications
Get notifications in real-time for staying up to date with content that matters to you.