This contribution has been submitted to Webdiary by a student in the Online Journalism unit for the Masters in Media Practice and Masters in Publishing courses at The University of Sydney as part of the unit's assessment. The topics covered in the pieces awaiting publication are interesting – and diverse. We hope that Webdiarists will enjoy reading them, as well as giving these aspiring journalists plenty of constructive commentary.

Urban Hunting
by Bianka Morgen

Every Saturday the same: stressed people run through Sydney, armed with the Sydney Morning Herald‘s Domain section. It is hunting season - house hunting season! A month ago I was one of them. Before I came to Sydney to spend a year abroad at the University of Sydney, I heard a lot of horror stories about how tough it is to find accommodation. After four terrible weeks of house hunting I agreed with that.

There is a huge lack of property, a problem which might never be fixed. Harley Dale, the chief economist of the Housing Industry Association told the Blacktown Sun [1], that research showed Australia needed 190,000 new dwellings in 2008/9 and almost a million new houses in five years to meet demand. "The combination of generation Y leaving home, strong migration patterns and a weak building sector is intensifying demand," said Michael McNamara, a spokesman for Australian Property Monitors.

The most expensive places to live

I realised the weight of this enormous demand when a landlord tried to rent me a balcony with a bed on it. Furthermore, I saw places, where about 40 people shared a five bedroom house with a tiny bathroom in the courtyard. Mouldy basement rooms and windowless prison cells offered for about $250 are not rare.

However, the problem is not only, that too little property is available, but it’s that this causes hugely high rental prices. Sydney has become one of the most expensive and overvalued cities in Australia. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics [2] house rents in Sydney have risen 15 per cent in the past year to a weekly median of $420. Also Perth and Melbourne recorded an annual growth of 17 per cent. Darwin heads the list with a weekly median of $450.

The high rental prices are caused, first, by the high demand of property and, second, by increasing costs and higher mortgage rates landlords are faced with. Further increasing interest costs keep renters from shifting into house ownership.

Government reduced public housing

While the Minister for Western Sydney Barbara Perry blamed the banks, in the Blacktown Sun [3], who continued to charge interest rates above and beyond the official rate, Shelter NSW [4], an organisation, which is working towards a fair housing system puts the blame on the government. At the Shelter NSW Conference in June 2008 Bill Randolph from the City Futures Research Centre said: "When the private sector fails to deliver, then the public interventions are needed." Actually, the government has reduced social housing in the last years and shifted housing responsibilities to the private sector.

This affects mainly the 25 per cent of lower income house holds in Sydney. They are excluded from welfare renting, because they are not poor enough, but they are also put under financial pressure by rising rent and living costs. A solution must be found quickly. As the market seems not to be able to regulate itself, it is the duty of the Australian Government to do something.

What do you think about the problems concerning the housing market? Do you think the government should provide more public housing or financial help or do you think it is not up to the government to deal with this?

Were you looking for accommodation in recent months? What were your experiences?

Links:

Australian Bureau of Statistics - Australian Social Trends, 2008

http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/Lookup/4102.0Chapter9002008 [5]

Australien Bureau of Statistics - Year Book, 2008

http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/bb8db737e2af84b8ca2571780015701e/21BBFB6B007AD333CA2573D20010F8F5?opendocument [6]

News.com.au - Interest rates explained

http://video.news.com.au/?Channel=NEWS.com.au+video&ClipId=1094_235916&bitrate=300&Format=wmp [7]

Shelter NSW

http://www.shelternsw.infoxchange.net.au [8]/

The Senate - Selected Committee on Housing Affordability in Australia

http://www.aph.gov.au/SEnate/committee/hsaf_ctte/report/report.pdf [9]