South-west Sydney suffers greatest housing stress
Shocking new data has revealed that a whole street of New South Wales families lose their home every month.
A report by the Australians for Affordable Housing revealed areas where renters and home purchasers are experiencing housing stress, meaning they spend more than 30 per cent of their income on housing costs — and the figures are dire. (More From Yahoo!7 Finance: Australia's Most Expensive Suburbs)
AAH research shows that a whopping 80 houses are confiscated each month while up to a third of people in the hardest hit areas are struggling to cover rent and pay for "essential items".
"Housing is the single biggest cost of living issue in Australia. When low income households spend more than 30 per cent of their income on housing costs they are officially in housing stress. This means they have very little left over to cover other costs like food, transport, bills or money for emergencies" said AAH Campaign Manager Sarah Toohey. (More From Yahoo!7 Finance: How Thieves Steal Your Credit Card Data)
The study shows the worst hit areas in NSW are Sydney, Wyong the mid north coast, the Hunter and far north coast.
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In Sydney areas such as Auburn, Fairfield, Canterbury, Strathfield, Liverpool and Bankstown all have rates of housing stress over 20%. (More From Yahoo!7 Finance: Ridiculous Taxes From Around The World)
Homes seized by banks has soared 22.5 per cent this year while in the 10 months to November the Supreme Court issued 2466 writs of possession, with 825 executed.
"The high cost of housing in Sydney is not new, but these figures show where the pain is being felt and that urgent action by the NSW and Commonwealth Governments is needed" added Toohey "Sydney needs a housing strategy that includes more than releasing land on the city fringe. Premier O'Farrell needs to invest in more affordable housing options close to jobs and services to reduce the squeeze on weekly budgets. (More From Yahoo!7 Finance: For Sale: Australia's Most Expensive Properties)
"We need collective action at all levels of government to ensure that we fix our broken housing system, and take the pressure off families struggling with high housing costs and lack of affordable options."
The top 10 local government areas in Sydney showing the proportion of residents experiencing housing stress: (More From Yahoo!7 Finance: Highest Paying Jobs in Australia)
1. Auburn - 28 per cent
2. Fairfield - 25 per cent
3. Canterbury - 24 per cent
4. Strathfield - 21 per cent
5. Liverpool - 21 per cent
6. Bankstown - 21 per cent
7. Holroyd - 20 per cent
8. Burwood - 19 per cent
9. Botany Bay - 19 per cent
10. Campbelltown - 19 per cent
(Source: Australians for Affordable Housing)
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