Knowledge@ASB: Housing Affordability

Home ownership was once touted as “the great Australian dream”. But the next generation of wannabe residential property owners look set to stay at home with the folks or rent for longer, as housing affordability becomes an increasingly pressing issue. Governments have a responsibility to make the aspiration for home ownership achievable, assert industry players. Positive intervention is required to facilitate land supply, fund infrastructure, create more equitable taxes and improve approval processes. While addressing the short supply of housing seems to be the logical solution, perhaps it’s not as simple as it looks, argues Glenn Otto, an economics professor at the Australian School of Business.