Housing research

DECEMBER 2021 - LORENZ CURVE ANALYSIS

Record low interest rates and government assistance have helped support buyer confidence and the housing market more generally throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.

Good quality local infrastructure contributes to people’s wellbeing, increases the liveability of our local neighbourhoods and cities, and helps facilitate the necessary flow of new housing supply for a growing population. Poorly planned cities and inadequate local infrastructure can impede new housing supply and exacerbate affordability problems. Sub-standard local infrastructure can also sow the seeds of community discontent over more development, because people fear new housing will mean increased traffic congestion and eroding amenity in their local neighbourhoods.

Property tax reform is gathering momentum. The NSW government recently published a progress paper providing more detail about its reform intentions including the results of its public consultation process. The next step for NSW is to assess feedback on the progress paper and provide an update later in the year. It now joins the ACT as the only two jurisdictions in Australia intent on replacing transfer (stamp) duty with land tax.

This paper provides an update on some aspects of community housing financing in Australia and complementary measures needed to close the funding gap that exists for community housing. This gap is the difference between the costs of delivering and operating new community housing developments (including construction and ongoing management costs) and the rental returns.

Housing affordability refers to the ability of a household to meet its housing costs, such as servicing a mortgage or renting, without compromising other needs.

2020 Report

Use the interactive map to see statistics on first home buyers that participated in the First Home Loan Deposit Scheme between 1 January and 30 June 2020.

Data is as at 30 June 2020.

You can search by postcode or local government area (LGA) and click on the map to view key information.

The COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 has had a devastating impact on the Australian economy and the day-to-day life of many Australians. The National Housing Finance and Investment Corporation (NHFIC) and the Community Housing Industry Association (CHIA) jointly interviewed representatives of 30 Community Housing Providers (CHPs) between June and August 2020 about COVID-19 and its impact on their operations.