An Australian grandmother has dug deep into her pockets to provide a roof over her daughter and grandchildren’s heads amid the country’s housing crisis. As rents and property prices continue to hit record highs in parts of Australia, finding accommodation is nearly impossible for some.
Head of Research and Economics, Dr Nicola Powell, said: Yahoo Finance Many cities have seen record low vacancy rates this year, making finding a suitable rental property even more difficult. Kaitlyn Bailey submitted over 150 rental applications in just one small area of NSW and was rejected for every single one.
“I don’t want to be homeless with all my children – I just can’t bear that,” she told 60 Minutes Australia.
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“I am not a (bad tenant), I keep the house clean, have always paid my bills and have never had a problem.”
Her mother, Karen, saved her from living on the streets and decided to tap into her retirement savings to take out a loan.
The grandmother used her $138,000 nest egg to buy a portable home that she set up in her yard to provide a home for Kaitlyn and her children.
“I feel for my children. I tried to do the best I could for them with what I had,” Karen said on the Channel 9 show.
“I just hate to see them go through this because I hate to see them upset.”
Moving in with family, friends or strangers just to make ends meet
Although the 58 square metre house has everything Kaitlyn needs, Karen admitted that her situation is representative of a problem faced by many people across Australia.
The grandmother said families were being reunited out of “necessity” to get through the housing crisis.
Kaitlyn added: “At the end of the day, you all have to survive. And that’s very, very difficult these days.”
A study published this year by Finder found that one in ten Australians – that’s 2.5 million people – have recently moved into shared accommodation.
Some now have to share a roof with friends, strangers or family members due to rising rents, unaffordable mortgage payments or rising living costs.
“Rent and mortgages have skyrocketed – they are the biggest source of financial stress in Australia and people can no longer cut costs elsewhere to make ends meet,” said Graham Cooke, head of consumer research at Finder.
Is there a light at the end of the rental tunnel?
The latest Commonwealth Bank Australia (CBA) economic report shows that rents are currently rising at their fastest pace in over a decade as demand for housing exceeds supply.
However, economist Stephen Wu said there could be some respite between now and the end of 2024 as growth in asking rents has slowed in Sydney and Melbourne, the country’s two largest rental markets.
Wu added that rental inflation is expected to slow from its elevated growth rate, but it will be a “gradual” trend.
“As population growth continues to slow, changes in household formation are increasing average household size and beginning to dampen housing demand while supply growth remains constrained,” he explained.
“The advertised rents are further evidence that rent inflation may slow down (albeit gradually) from now on.”
In addition to the significant changes in household composition, rent growth is increasing by nine percent on an annual basis – the strongest growth since 2008.
– with NCA Newswire
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