Landcom

Housing Affordability Literature Review and Affordable Housing Program Audit
Urban Research Centre University of Western Sydney

July 2008

Acknowledgements
This report was prepared with the assistance of Elena Sliogeris, Louise Crabtree, Peter Phibbs and Kate Johnston. Professor Phillip O’Neill Director Urban Research Centre

List of Acronyms
AMI BCLT CERC CEHL CHT CLT CSHA HAF HDFC HFHA LEHC LIHTC NRAS SHA ULDA UDIA Area Median Income Burlington Community Land Trust Common Equity Rental Cooperative Common Equity Housing Limited Champlain Housing Trust Community Land Trust Commonwealth-State Housing Agreement Housing Affordability Fund Housing Development Funding Corporation Habitat for Humanity Australia Limited Equity Housing Cooperative Low Income Housing Tax Credit National Rental Affordability Scheme State Housing Authority Urban Land Development Authority Urban Development Institute of Australia

Contents
Executive Summary Structure of the literature review 1 4

1.

Definitional Issues

5
5
6 7

How has housing affordability been defined?
What are the problems with these definitions? Can we come to an agreed definition for affordable housing?

2.

Nature and Extent of the Problem

9
9 13

Where is the problem manifest? What groups are affected?

How is the housing affordability problem influencing householders’ housing choices and behaviours? 14 What is the recent history of the issue? 15

What changes in housing affordability can be identified and what has been done elsewhere? 16

3.

Assessment of policy and programs

17
17
17 18 19
21 21 22

International review
England Ireland United States
Deed restrictions Limited-equity housing cooperatives Community land trusts

Canada

23

Australian Review
South Australia Australian Capital Territory

24
25 26

Queensland NSW
Planning mechanisms Forest Glade Habitat for Humanity Australia Cooperative Housing

28 29
29 30 30 31

Victoria
Ownhome

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Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (2007b) Home purchase assistance 2005-06: Commonwealth State Housing Agreement national data reports. Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (2007c) Community housing 2006-07: Commonwealth State Housing Agreement national data reports, Housing assistance development series, Cat. No. HOU 172, Canberra, AIHW. Bankwest (2008) Key Worker Housing Affordability Report. Bankwest Financial Indicator Series. Battellino R (2008) Background Notes for Opening Remarks to Senate Select Committee on Housing Affordability in Australia, Melbourne, 24 April 2008. Beer A, Kearins B and Pieters H (2007) Housing affordability and planning in Australia: the challenge of policy under neo-liberalism, Housing Studies, 22(1),11-24. Bramley G (1990) Bridging the Affordability Gap: Report of Research on Access to a Range of Housing Options, BEC, Birmingham. 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NSW Urban Taskforce (2006) Affordable Housing: Issues With Existing Planning Mechanisms At State And Local Government Level And Options To Stimulate Private Investment A Report to the NSW Government. NSW Urban Taskforce, Sydney. Oxley M (2006) The gain from the planning-gain supplement: a consideration of the proposal for a new tax to boost housing supply in the UK. European Journal of Housing Policy, 6(1), 101-113. Paris C (2007) International perspectives on planning and affordable housing, Housing Studies, 22(1), 1-9. Productivity Commission (2004) First Home Ownership: Productivity Commission Inquiry Report. http://www.pc.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0016/56302/housing.pdf Queensland Government, Department of Infrastructure (2007) Queensland Housing Affordability Strategy. Queensland Government Department of Infrastructure, Brisbane. http://www.affordablehome.com.au/files/pdf/Queensland_Housing_Affordability%20Stra tegy%20document%2007.07.pdf Richards A (2008) Some observations on the cost of housing in Australia, address to 2008 Economic and Social Outlook Conference The Melbourne Institute, Melbourne, 27 March 2008, http://www.rba.gov.au/Speeches/2008/sp_so_270308.html Robertson R (2006) Thinking about the big drop in Australian housing affordability’, Macquarie Research, 22 December. Saegert S and Benitez L (2005) Limited equity housing cooperatives: defining a niche in the lowincome housing market, Journal of Planning Literature, 19, 427-439. Select Committee on Housing Affordability in Australia (2008) A Good House is Hard to Find: Housing Affordability in Australia, The Senate, Commonwealth of Australia. SGS Economics and Planning (2007) Housing Affordability: What are the Drivers and How do We Fix the Problem?, Melbourne Quarterly Seminar Series. Stretton H (1989) Ideas for Australian Cities, Transit Australia: Sydney. Urban Development Institute of Australia (2007) An Industry Report into Affordable Home Ownership in Australia, August. Wilkinson J (2005) Affordable Housing in NSW: Past to Present, NSW Parliamentary Library Research Service. Wright-Howie D (2004) Public housing in Australia is in decline: the facts speak for themselves, Housing Works - Parity, 2(2), 8-9. http://www.sisr.net/events/docs/04tenyear_future.pdf Yates J, Berry M, Burke T, Jacobs K, Milligan V and Randolph B (2004) Housing affordability for lowerincome Australians: Plan, National Research Venture 3: Housing Affordability for Lower Income Australians Research Paper Plan, Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute. Yates J (2007a) Affordability and access to home ownership: past, present and future?, AHURI 42 Research reports, no. 10, November. 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