FEARS OVER HOUSING
WE ARE fast heading towards the time we’ve all dreaded. While we’re not entirely out of the danger zone for COVID-19 outbreaks, we have stabilised for now. That means we’re close to witnessing just how significant the economic ramifications of the coronavirus pandemic have been on Tasmanians.
When it comes to Tasmania’s housing market, there is no denying it was an absolute mess before a killer virus turned our way of life upside down.
Hobart has previously been dubbed Australia’s most expensive capital, and the downward pressure on tenants led to our most vulnerable people looking for shelter.
The median rent for all dwellings in Hobart was $440 a week at the end of June, an unaffordable proposition for many, and a long way from November 2016 when median rent in the capital was $357 a week.
Due to high rents, Tasmanians on lower incomes have been pushed from the private rental market into social and community housing, which has in turn put downward pressure on an already struggling sector.
House prices are through the roof for those wanting to enter the market.
In fact, the latest CoreLogic Property Market indicator shows the median house price in Hobart at January 10 was $590,000 – fourth behind Sydney, Melbourne and Canberra. The January figure compared with a Hobart median of about $570,000 in December. The popularity of short-term accommodation platforms such as Airbnb is attractive to property owners looking to make more money out of their asset.
According to a Consumer, Building and Occupational Services report released in February 2020, there were 5487 properties listed as short-term accommodation premises. In short, we have a major problem on our hands.
All levels of government have been generous in their measures to protect Australians from the economic impacts of the pandemic. But at some point the fiscal support will be wound back.
The Tasmanian government put in place measures designed to protect those living in rental properties. It introduced a moratorium on evictions and rental increases. The government continued to extend this moratorium until yesterday.
The issue with the measure was that it was the individual landlord and not the government that was providing the safety net for tenants. And the big fear was that landlords, upset and out of pocket due to the government shifting the goalposts on them, may exit the rental market, exacerbating the situation.
As measures are wound back, it’s crucial people aren’t allowed to fall through the cracks. While we hope that landlords will do the right thing by ordinarily good tenants and not take advantage and unnecessarily raise rents, it’s the job of the government and not the individual to finance those who need additional support.