Aussies Will be Pushing it, Just to Afford Rentals; It Will Not End Well, By James Reed
Australia's accommodation crisis is no longer a whisper—it's a roar, shoving everyday Australians toward homelessness at an alarming clip. The dream of a "good job" securing a home, as former Treasurer Joe Hockey once quipped, is dead, and the data backs it up. The Guardian's Greg Jericho dissects this in his March 12, 2025, Grogonomics column: even a decade of saving on a solid income—better than 80% of earners—won't snag a median-priced house in today's market:
Meanwhile, 7News (March 2025) drops a bleaker bomb: renting the average Australian home now demands a six-figure salary, with the Priced Out report pegging Sydney's median rent at $770 weekly—$140,000 yearly just to scrape by after tax. This isn't a hiccup; it's a structural implosion, and mass immigration is pouring fuel on the fire.
Australia's seen a migrant flood—1.1 million in two years under Labor—with an immigrant landing every 42 seconds. That's not hyperbole; it's maths. The Guardian article nods to this obliquely, noting housing prices booming in Adelaide, Brisbane, and Perth while Sydney and Melbourne "moderate" (still unaffordable). This tiesdirectly to record immigration during a housing crisis which jacks up demand when supply's already a trickle. The Australia Institute's research, cited by Jericho, shows even high earners can't save for a deposit—add 500,000+ yearly newcomers needing roofs, and the queue's a nightmare. Social media posts claim tents at $350 weekly!
Supply's the bottleneck. Labor's promised 1.2 million homes by 2029—240,000 yearly—but completions limp at 170,000 (ABS, 2023). Politicians gaslight that building more fixes this, but immigration outpaces construction 3-to-1. Jericho's data shows a broken market—pre-1970s, a good job meant a house; now, it's a fantasy for all but the elite. Immigration isn't the sole villain—decades of tax perks for investors (negative gearing, capital gains cuts) hogged stock—but it's the accelerant, turning scarcity into a shove off the cliff, petrol on a towering inferno already.
The fallout's visceral. 7News cites Anglicare's 2023 snapshot: 1-in-15 rentals are affordable for minimum-wage workers; for JobSeeker recipients, it's 1-in-500. Homelessness Australia reported a 6.2 percent jump in rough sleepers (2021-2023)—tents, cars, streets. Sydney's $770 weekly rent? That's 70 percent of a $75,000 salary—unliveable without six figures. Jericho's piece adds the kicker: even saving 15 percent of a decent income (80th percentile) takes 10 years for a deposit, and that's without rent eating you alive. For the bottom half—low-to-middle earners—home's a hobbit-hole mirage.
This isn't just numbers; it's lives. Social media scream of Aussies "on the brink of homelessness," with politicians dodging immigration curbs to prop up property values. The Guardian's subtext—rents and prices outpacing wages—pairs with 7News' six-figure rental bombshell: people are priced out, not just of ownership, but shelter. Homelessness isn't a glitch; it's the new normal for swathes of the population.
Economically, it's a slow bleed: housing eats incomes, consumption drops, businesses fold—think AI's "end of work" demand collapse, but with roofs as the trigger. Socially, it's dynamite: "social division" as locals go homeless while migrants pour in. Ethno-racial conflict, a 40 percent risk by 2050, gets a spark here—scapegoating's easy when tents line streets. Politically, it's a powder keg: Labor's immigration gambit (propping GDP) versus public rage could flip to popular revolt by 2030.
Mitigation's a pipe dream. Building 240,000 homes yearly? That's 50 percent above current rates, with labor and materials stretched. Capping immigration? Politicians balk—property tycoons and GDP stats rule. Jericho's right: the Reserve Bank's late rate cuts (February 2025) won't fix a market this warped. The Guardian and 7News paint a spiral—rents and prices climb, supply lags, immigration floods—and itis "evil self-destruction." It ends in shantytowns or mass unrest, not ribbon-cut suburbs.
Mass immigration is killing Australia!
Comments