- The Centre for Population anticipates a rise in net overseas migration by 268,000 between 2022 and 2024
- NHFIC has released its third ‘State of the Nation’s Housing 2022-23’ research report
- 46,500 households are currently homeless in Australia
According to the National Housing Finance and Investment Corporation (NHFIC), an estimated 377,600 households are currently experiencing a need for housing.
This figure was released in NHFIC’s third State of the Nation’s Housing 2022-23 research report. It is based on conservative estimates and includes 331,000 households facing rental stress and 46,500 households that are currently homeless.
In this situation, the term “rental stress” refers to households belonging to the lowest income quintile, who are paying more than 30% of their income towards rent.
NHFIC CEO Nathan Dal Bon explains that there are an array of factors contributing to the challenging rental market.
“The rapid return of overseas migration together with a supply pipeline constrained by decade-high construction costs and significant increases in interest rates is exacerbating an already tight rental market.”
Nathan Dal Bon, NHFIC CEO
The report offers detailed analysis and data on the current state of housing demand and supply across Australia, along with long-term projections. Its goal is to identify the possible factors driving, as well as the obstacles to, achieving affordable housing.
Robust population growth
The sharpest increase in interest rates seen in several decades coincides with population growth bolstered by strong overseas migration.
The NHFIC report suggests that Australian population growth experienced a much stronger recovery than expected following the opening of the country’s borders in early 2022.
The Centre for Population anticipates a rise in net overseas migration by 268,000 between 2022 and 2024. However, recent data suggests this estimate may be exceeded by a significant margin.
Placing more pressure on the housing market, NHFIC reports that the population growth is also overlapping with a weakened pipeline of new housing.
Renters are most vulnerable
The percentage of the Australian population living in private rental accommodations has increased considerably over the last two decades. An increasing proportion of those who rent in the private rental market fall into the two lowest income quintiles, which are considered the poorest.
The percentage of those renting privately who fall into these income quintiles has risen from 43.0% in 2001 to 46.9% in 2021, which is an additional 1.45 million people.
