New research has confirmed what many essential workers already know: Sydney is quickly becoming unaffordable when it comes to housing. The government is releasing more surplus land to build an additional 1,400 homes, but critics argue that this is far from enough.
Category
📺
TVTranscript
00:00Nurses, cleaners, early childhood educators, they're the kinds of workers society can't
00:07do without.
00:08But when it comes to housing, they're running out of options.
00:11Today's research shows that Sydney is increasingly becoming a no-go zone for the essential workers
00:16that make our city function.
00:18Property Council research has found households on $120,000 a year are largely locked out
00:23of home ownership in Sydney.
00:25In the orange patches, a median priced house is classed as beyond reach.
00:30In the red zone, it's beyond hope.
00:32The government needs to build 377,000 homes over the next five years to meet its own targets.
00:39We've seen estimates of them missing that target by more than 100,000 homes.
00:44In Parramatta, household incomes have grown by 87% since 2007, while the median house
00:50price has gone up 248%.
00:54Prices went up by a more modest 93%, but that still outpaces people's take-home pay.
00:59The government's been releasing surplus land for development, and today promised 11 more
01:04sites, making room for 1,400 new homes.
01:07We're going to keep doing everything we can.
01:09That's putting billions of dollars on the table in the budget.
01:12That's releasing site after site after site of government land for housing.
01:17But government land near Bella Vista and Kellyville stations still hasn't been built on nearly
01:21two years since plans were approved for more than 5,500 homes.
01:26The property council's using the data to try to strengthen its case for a developers discount.
01:32It says government fees and charges account for up to 40% of development costs, and it
01:37wants taxpayers to pick up more of the tab.
01:39We don't make policy guided by maximising return to property developers.
01:43We make policy guided by delivering the maximum number of houses.
01:47Figures that could determine the government's political fortunes.