Homeless crisis to worsen after election

HOMELESSNESS is likely to worsen after the Australian federal election on May 21 as investors have been holding off on development applications.

Inspire Realty founder/ property advisor Colin Lee, aka Property Prince, said with elections looming, some investors and developers were being cautious holding off on developments until after the election results were announced.

“Every developer I have spoken with nationally in the last three weeks has been waiting and seeing what the new government will put into place on negative gearing,” Mr Lee said.

“Some of these developers are waiting to spend millions of dollars from small time developers doing 4 to 5 townhouses to high rise unit developments. They want assurity.”

He said after the election, this would lead to increased rental and sales prices as demand would continue to outstrip supply.

“We will be even worse off because of this,” he said.

“Properties will not go down. People need a place to live and property is in high demand from renters and buyers.”

The national rental vacancy rate fell to 1 per cent in March, halving year-on-year, with all capital cities now operating in a landlord’s market, Domain’s latest Rental Vacancy Rate report found.

Landlords in competitive markets are being inundated with applications amid the shortage of available rentals and tenants are increasingly offering above the advertised price, or up to a year’s rent in advance to secure a home, agents have reported.

This pressure has increased following the reopening of international and domestic borders.

“Some people predicted properties would go down 20 per cent during Covid and they have gone up 20 per cent,” Mr Lee said.

“It’s about time in property rather than timing the property. Homes are not being built fast enough to accommodate demand and we have a ferocious appetite from overseas.”

He said the homeless issue would escalate and Australian women in their 50s and 60s were the fastest growing homeless group.

“In 2016, the Australian Bureau of Statistics reported there were 116,000 people homeless across Australia. Now, there are over 290,000 people and growing, according to Launch Housing.”

The Brisbane father has launched a Better Future Day on May 13 to give the community hope among growing disillusionment with the state of the world.

He is passionate about helping to give faith to people who are frustrated about what’s happening in the world and feel helpless and hopeless about the future.

Mr Lee is a multi-award winning investor who has inspired thousands of people worldwide to become financially secure.

“With the cost of living increasing and rising depression and suicide rates worldwide, I want to help more people come out of this mess and inspire a new generation of investors,” Mr Lee said.

Mr Lee hopes that the Better Future Day (marking his 42nd birthday and a celebration of life) will inspire people globally to consider there is always light among the darkness.

Having had many of his own challenges, being brought up in Malaysia and being made redundant three times from other jobs before starting his own business in January 2020, he knows full well how depression feels.

He volunteers for Mentoring Men and is passionate about helping men who are feeling depressed, knowing that two out of three suicides in Australia are by men.

For more details, visit www.inspirerealty.com