A new report from the Queensland Council of Social Services (QCOSS) has spotlighted the acute financial strain faced by residents due to soaring housing costs.
The Breaking Ground report, authored by UNSW Sydney Professor Hal Pawson (pictured above) and the City Futures Research Centre, revealed that house prices and new tenancy rents in Queensland have risen more sharply than in the rest of Australia since the pandemic began.
Brisbane has seen a dramatic 65% increase in property prices since 2020, nearly double the average for Australian capital cities.
Rents for new tenancies across Queensland have also surged, climbing 45% over the same period, outpacing national averages.
“With the market in its current state, it is renters and recent first-home buyers who are going to be at the sharp end,” Pawson said.
He warned that, for some, these conditions could lead to homelessness.
The number of Queenslanders relying on homelessness services has grown by 34% in the past five years. Families increasingly seek emergency assistance, with many forced to live in temporary accommodations like tents, cars, or motel rooms.
This uptick is largely due to the dwindling availability of rentals affordable to low-income earners; as of March this year, less than 1% of all rentals were affordable to a single person on minimum wage.
In response to the dire situation, the report evaluated the Queensland government’s 2024 Homes for Queenslanders plan, which aims to fast-track the construction of 900,000 new homes, including more than 2,000 social dwellings annually through 2046.
QCOSS CEO Aimee McVeigh praised the government’s commitment.
“While Queensland’s housing crisis continues, the Queensland government has broken new ground by committing to a nation-leading housing plan that will start to make a significant difference in coming years if properly implemented,” McVeigh said.
Pawson highlighted the need for a comprehensive approach.
“Both in the range of housing issues it covers and in its inclusion of defined targets in key areas, the Homes for Queenslanders plan has strategic breadth and substance that are unusual in similar plans published by other states,” he said.
McVeigh also urged the state opposition to align with the government’s targets and boost funding for homelessness services to ensure the continuity of efforts to resolve the housing crisis in Queensland.
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