Affordable Housing – Can We Find The Sweet Spot?

With federal and state government focusing resources on assisting with urgent social housing needs and developers prioritising financial return on high yielding projects, local experts believe mid to low range affordable housing is “falling through the cracks”.

This was one of the key findings of the Greater Whitsunday Housing Project roundtable meeting that took place in Mackay earlier this month.

Stakeholders from across the region gathered to share issues, collaborate on solutions, and contribute information for a housing summit which is due to take place in 2023.

The results of the roundtable meeting found that availability of affordable housing was the biggest issue, followed by a mismatch in what consumers wanted and the stock available and then its affordability.

Joanne Moynihan from Whitsunday Housing attended the meeting and said the issue arises when people earn too much to qualify for social housing but too little to afford the inflated rental prices.

Councillor Jan Clifford said this issue is exasperated because there is less than a 0.5 per cent rental availability in the Greater Airlie Beach Area and this often creates a bidding war on properties which drives the prices up.

“It’s endemic right across the region,” said Cr Clifford.

“People can’t find anything, and if they can, they can’t afford it.”

Medium to low-income earners are struggling the most.

“Your rent is not meant to be more than one third of your income otherwise it puts too much stress on your household,” explained Cr Clifford.

“How are people meant to afford $600 to $700 a week in rent when that’s all they earn?”

Tonia Wilson from Greater Whitsunday Communities said one of the key outcomes of the meeting was the need to find an incentive for developers to invest in affordable housing.

In the United Kingdom, the government enforces a law which says any development needs to comprise 40 per cent affordable housing.

“An element of affordable housing in a commercial development helps reduce risk for developers,” said Ms Wilson.

“Affordable housing can be potentially subsidised by the government making it a more reliable investment for developers.

“This can create a sweet spot where social and economic factors come together.”

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Key Points

• Low- and medium-income households earn too much to qualify for social housing but too little to afford rental rate rises

• There is less than 0.5 per cent rental availability in the Greater Airlie Beach Area

• Bidding wars are driving the prices of rental accommodation up

• There are no incentives for developers to invest in affordable housing

• The UK has a law that states 40 per cent of any development must comprise affordable housing

• Experts believe this creates a ‘sweet spot’ where developers and the community benefit

• A housing summit in 2023 will discuss how this, and many other ideas, could be applied locally

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The Greater Whitsunday Housing Roundtable took place in Mackay on December 6

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