Grandmother Karen used her retirement savings to give her daughter Caitlin a place to live. (Source: Channel 9)
A grandmother is doing all she can to keep a roof over her daughter and grandchildren as Australia’s housing crisis continues, with some finding it nearly impossible to find a place to live as rent and property prices continue to hit record highs in parts of the country.
Head of research and economics Dr Nicola Powell told Yahoo Finance that many cities have seen record low vacancy rates this year, making it even harder to find a suitable rental property. Caitlin Bailey applied for more than 150 rental properties in just one small part of New South Wales, but was turned down every time.
“I don’t want to take all my kids and end up homeless. I can’t stand that,” she explained to 60 Minutes Australia.
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“I [bad tenant]I keep my house clean, I always pay my bills and have never had any problems.”
She was saved from life on the streets thanks to her mother, Karen, who decided to dip into her pension to secure a loan.
Her grandmother used the emergency fund to buy a $138,000 mobile home that she set up in her backyard to give Caitlin and her children a place to live.
“When I think about my kids, I’ve just tried to do the best for them with what I have,” she told Channel 9.
“I hate seeing them go through this. I hate seeing them upset.”
Living with family, friends, or strangers just to survive
Although Caitlin has everything she needs in her 58sq metre home, Karen acknowledged their situation was typical of the challenges faced by many across Australia.
The grandmother said the family was living together again “out of necessity” to weather the housing crisis.
The story continues
Caitlin added: “At the end of the day, you all have to survive, and that’s very, very hard these days.”
Finder research published this year revealed that one in 10 Australians – or 2.5 million people – have recently moved into a shared home.
Rising rents, inability to repay mortgages and rising costs of living have led some to live under the same roof as friends, strangers or family.
“Rents and mortgages have skyrocketed and are the number one cause of financial stress in Australia, with people no longer able to cut costs in other areas of their lives,” Finder’s head of consumer research Graham Cook said.
Is there light at the end of the rental tunnel?
The Commonwealth Bank of Australia’s (CBA) latest economic analysis report has revealed that rents are rising at the fastest pace in more than a decade as demand for housing outstrips supply.
But economist Stephen Woo said there could be some respite between now and the end of 2024 as advertised rent growth rates slow in the country’s two largest rental markets, Sydney and Melbourne.
Wu added that rent inflation should moderate due to the fast pace of increases, but that it will be a “gradual” trend.
“While the continued slowdown in population growth is causing changes in household composition to increase average household size and housing demand is beginning to ease, supply growth remains subdued,” he explained.
“Advertised rents add to the growing weight of evidence that rental inflation is likely to slow (albeit gradually) going forward.”
In addition to notable changes in household composition, rents are rising at an annual rate of 9%, the highest since 2008.
– NCA Newswire
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