International Students are Causing the Rent Crisis By James Reed
A few months back, the Institute of Public Affairs (IPA) published a report, which noted the herd of elephants in the room, that most of the main stream press denies, or if mentions, tries to cover up. The IPA report found that up until 2028, Australia will have a net housing supply shortfall of 252,800 units, which is by any definition, a major housing crisis. The report shows that this crisis is a product of the government’s mass immigration program which will deliver a net of 1.755 million new migrants by 2028. And a major portion of this is international students on student visas, with around two-thirds of the 400,000 net new migrants arriving in the financial year ending 2023, being on student visas. It is openly admitted now that most of these students come solely to become residents, and the government now welcomes this, so the international student market, keeping the evil universities afloat, is just part of the immigration Great Replacement program, that began in the post-World War II period, and now accelerates.
While the local elites may rejoice over the short-term gains, I have repeatedly asked what will happen in the coming war with communist China, when the technocratic class is largely composed of foreigners, whose sole reason for being here is personal gain. This was an issue in World War II, and for World War III, it will be magnified millions of times.
Probably a good idea to bug out of the cities, and maybe off grid.
“Ballooning overseas student numbers are behind skyrocketing rental increases of up to $1000 in a year and adding to the scarcity of housing stock, a think tank has claimed.
According to the Institute of Public Affairs (IPA), the federal government's move to cash in on the $40 billion international student industry has led to a hike in average rental prices.
In the past financial year, rents increased by 4.4 per cent on average - the equivalent of about $24 per week.
IPA analysis showed demand pressures from the international student intake accounted for about 80 per cent of the increase to rents, on average, across Australia.
In the absence of international students, the research suggested, rents would have increased by only 0.88 per cent.
"Australians already facing a cost-of-living crisis are set to suffer further as the federal government's unplanned, record increase in the international student intake drives rents even higher making housing less affordable," Daniel Wild, deputy executive director of the IPA, said.
"While universities do provide some accommodation for students, the majority of students are in the private rental market, which is driving up costs for Australians.
"Universities must do significantly more to house those they entice here."
In July, IPA research found the rise in net international student arrivals was the largest on record.
"Australia's intake of international students is well above comparable countries, and on a per capita basis, it is well over double the United Kingdom and approximately eight times that of the United States," Wild said.
"While international students may provide benefits to the bottom line of universities, the question needs to be asked as to how this is improving the experience of Australian students and the wider community."
“Research by the Institute of Public Affairs (IPA) finds that over the six years to 2028, Australia is set to face a net housing supply shortfall of 252,800 units. A key contributor to this housing crisis is the Commonwealth Government’s inability to rein in the influx of migrants subsequent to the lifting of international borders after the COVID -19 pandemic. A net of 1.755 million new immigrants are set to call Australia home between 2023 and 2028.
The Australian Financial Review has attributed this steep rise in migration to ‘a rebound in the number of people living in Australia on student visas’. This was subsequently acknowledged in the May 2023-24 Budget:
- The reopening of international borders has seen a rapid recovery in the stock of international students, skilled temporary visa holders and working holiday makers in 2022-23. Second and third-year students who were studying online during the pandemic have been returning, in addition to those arriving in Australia to begin their studies.
Almost two-thirds of the more than 400,000 net new migrants in the financial year ending 2023 have arrived in Australia on student visas. Another two thirds of the subsequent year’s net migration intake will be made up of international students.
Many international students come to Australia for the primary purpose of working and seeking permanent residency rather than getting an education. Indeed, part-time work opportunities and a pathway to permanent settlement are the major selling points of educational and immigration agents, as well as tertiary education institutions, seeking to attract international students.
This research report studies the impact that the present volume of international student arrivals has, and will continue to have, on Australia’s housing shortage. The consequences of the unprecedented influx of international students are not just felt by Australians but also the international students themselves, whose educational experience suffers as a result of issues associated with a lack of housing availability, especially in Australia’s capital cities.
In Australia’s capital cities, where most international students reside, the percentage of international students to new housing supply was as follows in the financial year 2023 (note: greater than 100 per cent indicates that international students occupied an equivalent to all the new housing supply, as well as consuming existing supply):
- Melbourne: 80%
- Sydney: 147%
- Brisbane: 57%
- Perth: 63%
- Adelaide: 89%
- Hobart: 103%
- Darwin: 140%
- Canberra: 55%”
Comments