Generation of Homelessness – Renter Hunger Games

The article below is owned and published by The Daily Telegraph, Herald Sun, and Courier Mail.

As a thought leader in the future of housing, my voice is finally being heard and BIG time. So glad and grateful that my latest comments are featured in the Daily Telegraph, Herald Sun and the Courier Mail today.

I have been speaking up for everyday Aussie investors for months which represents around 90 per cent of all rental accommodation.

Brisbane’s vacancy rates are sitting at 1 per cent with prospective tenants facing tough competition to secure a rental home.

“Australia’s combined growth in net migration and natural population equates to a long-term
average increase of around 350,000 people per year.

That said, recent ABS data shows that the population increased by close to half a million people in 2022 and is on track to reach a similar figure this year.”

We must make a concerted effort to engage with all stakeholders – including property investors – or the rental crisis, homelessness and housing situation will worsen.

Inspire Realty property investment adviser Colin Lee said the new data showed “everyday Australian investors are fleeing real estate”.

“We are in for more than a generation of homelessness if something isn’t done soon to address rental undersupply,” he said.

“What’s most disturbing is the lead-in time for adding new housing supply to the market is years, not months.

“As such, we need to make decisions now to address future demand for housing which is increasing at an exponential rate.

“Successive policy settings across all levels of government have seen these investors leave the market in droves over the past decade.”

“I empathise with renters, but if governments and banks continue to penalise investors, more will leave the market.”

Investors have fled Queensland, with new loans plummeting almost a quarter in the past year, as the state’s Housing Minister finally admits the crisis is worse than it was eight months ago when the government’s flagship summit was held.

Shock new data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics revealed Queensland’s new-investor loan value had plummeted by 24 per cent in the past year – higher than the national average of a 20.9 per cent fall.

And while May saw a slight recovery of new-investor loans 4.5 per cent higher than the previous month, Queensland was still behind every other state other than Western Australia, including Victoria (up 9 per cent) and NSW (up 8.5 per cent).

It comes in the wake of The Courier-Mail’s rental crisis investigation series, which saw the government accused of contributing to the ballooning crisis with continuing tinkering of rental laws, taxation and regulatory changes – in turn driving out private market investment.

“There are a whole range of challenges right now across the country impacting people who are renting and of course people who are trying to own a home.