Sydney’s chronic housing crisis is costing the economy more than $10bn a year, according to research from the Committee for Sydney thinktank that also found just five major cities around the world were more unaffordable.
Researchers found the costs were being felt most by young Sydneysiders at the start of their careers who were affected by an inability to find affordable housing near their work, leading to a costly loss in productivity.
The problem is so severe that it threatens to hasten brain drain and squash the city’s startup ecosystem, making it even harder for people with business ideas to make them a reality and costing the city an estimated $2.9bn a year.
Inefficient commutes alone cost the city $2.5bn a year in lost productivity, according to the committee, with women worse off due to the “spatial leash”, meaning they often have to work closer to home.
Benchmarked against other major metropolises, the report found Sydney met the three key chronic unaffordability metrics and required immediate and bold interventions.
The city’s median property price has surged to 13.3 times the median income; 35.3% of renters are in housing stress and the city is ranked the sixth-least affordable city, beating New York and London. Only Hong Kong, San Francisco, Singapore, Vancouver and Tel Aviv were less affordable.
The committee’s head, Eamon Waterford, said the level of housing stress necessitated a major rethink from politicians and the public.
“If we measure politicians on an electoral cycle … will they solve housing affordability in the next four years? The answer is unequivocally no,” he said. “It is about identifying – what are the levers that we pull in the next series of years that are going to set us on the right path?
“You could look at it similarly to the way we think about climate change. You can’t solve climate change in a single electoral cycle.”
Estelle Grech, the committee’s planning and housing policy head, said the report was about showing the financial impact of the housing crisis and encouraging bold action.
“What we’re trying to do with the big figure and the research … is give government licence to make big bold, unpopular at times decisions, but decisions that need to be made,” she said.
“This is a big issue and we need a big response.”
The committee’s recommendations included inclusionary zoning targets for affordable housing in new developments, investing in “much more” social and affordable housing and increasing housing supply with transport, schools and childcare.
Waterford said the Minns government’s initial housing announcements were a “good first step, but they’re only a first step”, as were pledges made by the federal government.
The New South Wales government has acknowledged the dire situation for the state’s most needy after the priority social housing waitlist doubled in less than a decade and surged by 1,000 to 7,573 over the past year.
Waterford also urged the public to become more active in calling for more development.
“Support growth in your local community, become a yimby, show up to council meetings and speak on behalf of development that’s going to see significant numbers of houses being built into communities,” he said. Yimby, short for “yes in my back yard”, is a term adopted by those in support of development.
Waterford added: “Speak to your neighbors about the existential challenge, recognise that building housing for people that are different to you is a really good outcome for your community because that diversity breeds vibrancy.”
The alarm has been sounded after Guardian Australia revealed Sydney apartment buildings were being acquired by developers, demolished and replaced with luxury homes, resulting in a net loss of dwellings.
Source : TheGuardian