University of New South Wales
Sydney, New South Wales
Study shows poor housing affordability in Sydney impacts Sydneysiders’ well-being and productivity.
We worked with the University of New South Wales (UNSW) to prepare the ‘Strengthening Economic Cases for Housing Policies’ report. It argues for a new housing story – one that considers housing arrangements that will best sustain metropolitan economic development for the long term.
Our analysis found that the high cost of housing in Sydney not only affects residents’ wallets; it affects their health and even creates problems for childhood learning. High-cost housing also affects the Sydney labour market – how long people work for, how far from work they live, and what age they retire.
The results show that if the government wants to boost productivity in the city, Sydney needs to have more affordable homes within reasonable distances from where people work. The task facing government, housing providers and researchers is to work collaboratively to shape better outcomes.
