Written by: Ned K. on 9 December 2021
If you are paying for a home, the cost is going "through the roof"!
The Real Estate Institute of Australia's housing affordability figures for the September quarter 2021 reveal that the average family now spend 36.2% of household income on loan repayments, the highest level since the 2008 global financial crisis of capitalism.
In NSW the figure was even higher at 44.7%!
In the last 20 years ending June 2021, the average family income has increased by 112.8% . However the size of the average mortgage increased by 284.7% and the average home loan repayments increased by 179.4%.
Average renting of a home has also increased during the same period. Twenty years ago the average rental cost for a three bedroom place was 22% of total family income. Now it is 26% of a tenant's family income.
The last two years of Covid-19 related stand downs and job losses have made the situation even more precarious.
Paying off a house or keeping up with rent payments make it even more courageous for workers who make a decision to take strike action to increase their family income or prevent the boss from further reducing income by changing rosters or trying to cut penalty rates or reduce regular overtime and use below award sub contract labour to do additional hours.
The demand on governments to provide affordable housing for working people, students and the elderly never goes away under capitalism. With the coming federal election, the affordability of housing issue is likely to be front and centre of mind of many voters. Aspiring politicians seeking another term in parliament or seeking a first term ignore the housing question at their own peril.
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