Essential Workers Struggle with Australia’s Rental Crisis While Industrial Market Sees Growth Slow

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As Australia grapples with the surging rental market, essential workers find themselves stuck between a rock and a hard place. While the industrial market sees a slowdown in rental growth, essential workers like aged care professionals and ambulance drivers are struggling to find affordable housing.

Property reporter, Aleisha Orr, reported in her article titled, ‘Screwed up’: There is ‘virtually no part of Australia’ these people can afford to rent in’, that Colleen Carena, an aged care worker in Coffs Harbour, was forced to pay $280 weekly for a caravan park site due to the unavailability of rental properties within her budget.  Anglicare Australia’s survey revealed a staggering mismatch between essential workers’ salaries and the cost of available rental properties across the country. “Essential workers are the backbone of our communities, yet they cannot afford to rent,” said Anglicare Australia executive director Kasy Chambers. The survey showed that of the 45,895 listings, only 424 were affordable for hospitality workers.

On the flip side, Henry Thai’s article, ‘Australia’s industrial market sees rental growth slow across Q2 2023′, indicates that even as rental growth in Australia’s industrial market slows, the demand for industrial space is still higher than the supply. The Knight Frank Australian Industrial Review Q2 2023 found vacancies on the eastern seaboard to be 36% lower than the previous year. “The strong supply pipeline for 2023 will help to ease the tight vacancy… but it won’t completely satisfy demand for modern industrial space,” commented Jennelle Wilson from Knight Frank.

Although these scenarios exist in different sectors, a common theme is evident: the issue of affordability and availability in the rental market.

Chambers highlights the dire state of the private rental market, describing it as being “screwed up” and built for wealth generation rather than providing secure housing. “As a society, we cannot function without these professions and occupations. So if they can’t afford a place in the private rental market, we can absolutely state that it’s broken,” she added. Chambers has urged for the construction of more social and affordable rentals, and a tax reform that puts people’s needs over investors.

Meanwhile, the industrial sector sees growth albeit at a reduced pace. Templeton from Knight Frank believes that sustained demand and tight supply will still push rents upwards, but at a slower speed2. With a renewed investor demand and higher transactions, there’s hope for the sector.

In a nation where housing affordability is a primary concern, it’s essential to strike a balance that caters to both industrial demands and the needs of the community’s essential workers.

References:

Orr, A. (Date Unknown). ‘Screwed up’: There is ‘virtually no part of Australia’ these people can afford to rent in. https://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/essential-workers-face-rental-market-thats-virtually-unaffordable/9lc0v1jkr 

Thai, H. (Date Unknown). Australia’s industrial market sees rental growth slow across Q2 2023. https://thepropertytribune.com.au/commercial-real-estate/australias-industrial-market-sees-rental-growth-slow-across-q2-2023/