As reports of homelessness, vaulting rents, interest rate rises and the inability of younger generations to buy dominate the headlines, NSW Premier Chris Minns deserves credit for attempting to tackle the housing crisis, even putting councils on notice, warning that planning consent powers would be removed and handed to the Planning Department if there was continued failure to meet a housing target of constructing 76,000 new homes a year for five years.
Meanwhile, AMP chief economist Shane Oliver predicted Sydney rents will continue to climb, forecasting 5-7 per cent annual growth. “It does seem as if momentum is cooling, reflecting cost of living pressures, possible signs that rental demand might be slowing and the market being up against affordability constraints. Wages have not been keeping up with the cost of living … so the ability of renters to pay higher and higher rents is somewhat limited,” he said.
Sydney’s property boom and bank policies now restrict home or unit ownership to the well-paid or those with well-heeled parents. But for many renters, the housing crisis is not about living the Australian dream but just getting by. Reforms are coming, but if the increases keep coming, the question facing NSW is how many renters will take to the streets before help arrives?
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