Increasing Housing Affordability Research Articles

The housing crisis in Australia and New Zealand: A comparative analysis through policy lenses

Housing affordability is a prominent issue across the world. There is a growing concern that the number of people experiencing homelessness is rapidly increasing. As a solution, many countries, including Australia and New Zealand, have introduced housing policies aimed at providing affordable houses to low-to-medium income families. Over recent years, several affordable housing policies have been introduced in both Australia and New Zealand, including public housing initiatives, rental subsidies, accommodation supplements, state housing programmes and the provision of social housing. New Zealand launched the KiwiBuild programme in 2018 to increase housing affordability. Unfortunately, in 2019, KiwiBuild was unable to deliver its targeted primary objectives set by the Government. This study features a comparative analysis, primarily focusing on comparing and contrasting affordable housing policies in Australia and New Zealand. Subsequently, it discusses the reasons why the KiwiBuild programme failed. It makes recommendations based on policies used in Australia with a view to improving affordable housing policies in New Zealand. This research contributes and adds to the existing body of knowledge about affordable housing policies in both Australia and New Zealand. The recommendations will be helpful for future researchers who wish to develop workable policies to assist with affordable housing-related issues in New Zealand.

Female perspectives on housing quality and household characteristics, perceptions and challenges: Evidence from Australia

In many societies, perceptions regarding housing and ownership rights is that it is mostly consigned to males rather than females. Housing is gendered around physical aspects, as a financial asset, and even in housing data to be a male preserve – excluding females and their perceptions. This important paper addresses this limitation in the literature by examining the views and perceptions of female participants in the Australian Housing Conditions dataset. More specifically this paper examines the significance of household structure, housing quality and characteristics of Australian woman and how it affects their financial strain. As a further dimension this paper also examines differences in women’s housing experience by age as older Australian women (above 65 years) have a higher likelihood to revert to substandard housing conditions and homelessness than younger Australian women (under 65 years). Logistic regression analysis shows a higher tendency towards financial strain in women under 65 years, those with either poor physical or mental health and those who were single or lone parents. These finding propose that women under 65 are at greater risk to experience household financial strain and poorer housing security. The paper argues that these results present challenges for Australian housing policy through increasing housing affordability. The analysis suggests that an increase in the availability of affordable housing will ease the financial strain and improve the mental health of Australian women. Moreover, an increase in the flexibility of housing arrangements may prove to be beneficial in providing additional housing solutions.

Managing the equilibrium state of housing affordability

The subject of the study is the organizational and economic aspects of managing the equilibrium state of housing affordability for the population during construction. The analysis shows that despite the successful development of the housing sector and the functioning of the housing market, housing affordability is differentiated, which is manifested in unsatisfactory housing conditions of a significant part of low-income and other established categories of citizens. The aim of the study is to improve the processes of ensuring targeted consistent housing policies already at the construction stage to increase not only market, but also social affordability of housing. Materials and methods include a methodological approach, which involves the construction of a model of interaction between the investor and local authorities during the construction process in order to accelerate the solution of the problem of increasing housing affordability for the low-income citizens on the basis of ensuring the required volumes of housing construction in accordance with the main legislative formats. The optimization of the coordination model of the interests of investors and the municipality during the construction in this social housing cluster is ensured through the implementation of mechanisms to reduce the expenses of investors to obtain a land plot, as well as the proposed measures that increase the social accessibility of housing. The task is to ensure the balance and comprehensiveness of the market and social affordability of housing for various categories of citizens by expanding the list of powers of municipalities and financing their implementation for the construction of social housing facilities.

Model of Increasing the Economic Affordability of Housing When Creating Housing Cooperative

The housing problem remains one of the most acute and socially significant, since the possibility of acquiring and improving housing conditions for citizens becomes difficult and impossible to achieve without state support. In particular, a decrease in housing affordability is associated with the quality and growth in the cost per square meter of housing, the tax burden and the annual increase in housing maintenance costs. Nevertheless, the main criterion characterizing the growth of reproduction and ensuring the comfort of living is the income level of the population. Housing is a social criterion and an indicator of the life quality of the population, affecting labor productivity, growth in gross domestic product, dynamics of demographic processes, and economic activity of the population. Undoubtedly, the availability of housing is the main indicator of the economic and social development of the state. Unfortunately, despite the positive dynamics of the housing affordability indicator, there are a number of problems that need to be addressed within the framework of the formation of comfortable housing. And also, it is necessary to introduce the affordability barriers to understand the complexity of creating an affordable housing market. In this article, the authors present a model for increasing housing affordability, taking into account an accurate assessment of the possibility of its acquisition. In addition, we offer a solution to this socio-economic problem by supporting the development of housing cooperation, which shall be expressed in the formation of new legal institutions and instruments that contribute to the guaranteed accumulation of funds by citizens for the acquisition of real estate.

SPECIAL CHARACTERISTICS OF MARKET SUPPLY FORMATION IN THE HOUSING DEVELOPMENT SECTOR AND RESIDENTIAL BUILDINGS RECONSTRUCTION UNDER THE PRESENT-DAY CONDITIONS IN RUSSIA

It is necessary to understand the housing market situation for selecting strategic measures that are able to ensure the balanced state of market supply and demand. This task is very relevant in the field of housing stock development and reconstruction in Russia. The up-to-date aspect of this issue has been investigated in this paper, and it is marked by the particular characteristics of intercommunication of the processes of supply generation for the purpose of satisfaction of demands for reconstruction and building activities projects in the housing sector and investment supply introduced into the investment market. This paper directs attention to the necessity of expanding the forms of housing needs satisfaction in order to increase housing affordability. This research is of practical importance and is intended to improve the performance of the modern housing reproduction market in Russia owing to the further development of the market mechanisms and tools, which ensure the reliability of housing development and housing stock reconstruction investments in line with people's investment and consumer demands

Housing affordability in Russia and foreign countries

The article presents the analysis of the dynamics of housing affordability indicators in Russia over the past 10 years and in largest urban agglomerations during 2010—2016. It highlights the main factors that influenced the growth in housing affordability in this period. This paper compares Russian indicators with similar foreign indicators, taking into account the methodological differences. The authors show that there was a trend to increase housing affordability in Russia for the past period through home purchase using mortgage loans. In contrast to Russia, in the majority of developed countries more attention was paid to improving the quality of the urban environment in the same period, which led to a certain decrease in housing affordability.

A framework & dynamic model for reform of residential land supply policy in urban China

Urban residential land supply is both driven by and significantly influences urbanisation processes, the optimisation of which are necessary to address housing issues. At present, China's urban housing system has three major problems, namely a shortage of affordable housing, rapidly increasing prices for regular commodity housing, and an under-supply, relative to market demands, of high-end commodity housing, calling into question the effectiveness of existing land supply policies. This paper first reviews policies governing residential land supply and then considers these policies in light of findings from semi-structured interviews conducted with key actors and a survey of households in Hangzhou, a city of more than nine million in eastern China. These analyses show that although the Chinese government has undertaken steps to reform land use allocation and increase housing affordability in its cities, significant opportunities for reform remain in both affordable and commodity housing sectors.Results from this study aid in formulation of a framework for residential land supply and a dynamic model for reform for Chinese governments to undertake to integrate housing provision across a range of household income and housing type classifications. The model demonstrates how reformation of the residential land supply system through improvements to the elasticity of residential land supply, optimisation of land supply for affordable housing, deregulation of land supply for and taxation of high-end commodity housing will significantly ease housing stress within Chinese cities. Finally, international experience indicates that the Chinese government can leverage revenues to acquire or otherwise support construction of additional affordable housing, with the increased volume of activity helping to arrest housing price inflation while achieving socialist ideals.

Социальная стабильность в России: новый взгляд

Modern social policy in Russia is a pivotal factor in social and economic development of the country. The author defines the social stability and social balance. The main social challenges faced by Russia during the crisis and reforms are determined. The creation of the middle class is a social project of Russia. The research notes that the middle class plays an important role of social stabilizer, as it tends to maintain the current state structure. The economic growth in the country will be observed only in the context of creating a large middle class which should become the driving force of the Russian economic development. Having analyzed the equitable social policy in relation to all members of society, the author evaluates its effectiveness. It should be mentioned that social equity resides in decent salary, providing employment for every citizen and social assistance to all social strata, increasing housing affordability.

Exploring changes in the spatial distribution of the low-to-moderate income group using transit smart card data

Property booms have caused residential spatial distribution changes in many metropolitan areas. To understand the impact of surging housing prices on the low-to-moderate income group, this study uses transit smart card data to explore whether and to what extent increasing housing affordability pressure impacts the pattern of residential spatial distribution. This analysis is based on the facts that most public transit commuters are in the low-to-moderate income group and that transit smart cards continuously record individual spatial choice behaviors. Compared with conventional approaches using census data or survey data, our approach can more quickly detect residential changes. Experimental results indicated that most low-to-moderate income dwellers lived in low-housing-cost areas with high accessibility to public transportation. Three relocation patterns were discovered based on significant changes in residential spatial distribution. The overall pattern is to move from the inner city to suburban areas or to the urban periphery, where housing costs are much lower. Specifically, these commuters moved along traffic corridors (metro lines), which indicates that their residential choices were constrained by employment locations and public transport facilities. Finally, these commuters presented a jumping relocation pattern along metro lines due to the search for low-rent housing. Our findings provide some insights into urban dynamics, as well as urban and housing policies.

Increasing housing affordability in Aba metropolis: a panacea for healthy living environment

The prime reason why people live in slum is because of their inability to afford decent and adequate housing. Housing is considered affordable if a household can live in it without sacrificing essentials such as food, clothing, transportation, and medical care. A commonly accepted guideline for housing affordability is a housing cost that does not exceed 30% of a household’s gross income. When the monthly carrying costs of a home exceed 30% of household income, the housing is considered unaffordable for that household. Income and cost are the primary factors that determine housing affordability. Therefore, understanding affordable housing challenges requires understanding disparities in income and wealth. In the study area income and cost are the primary causes of poor housing affordability, reason why majority of low income earners seek refuge in slum neighbourhoods. This paper studies five selected slum neighbourhoods in Aba Metropolis with the aim of improving housing affordability and healthy living environment for low income earners in Aba. Mixed research approach (quantitative and qualitative) was adopted in this study. Copies of questionnaire were administered to sample size of 400 respondents drawn using stratified systematic random sampling technique from the five selected slum neighbourhoods. The responses from the respondents were analysed using frequency table and bar chart. Findings of the paper are that, most of the urban population in the study area live in dehumanizing housing environment because of poor income and high cost of house rent while those that have access to decent housing do so at abnormal cost as the market has been unable to meet the growing demand for housing at affordable price. To reduce the cost of housing and increase its affordability in the study area the paper concludes by recommending use of alternative building materials for cost reduction in building construction in the study area to increase housing affordability and healthy living environment.

Social Housing in England: Affordable vs ''Affordable''

England''s increasing housing affordability problem, widely described as a ''housing crisis'', has become a major public and political concern in recent years. The proportion of social housing has been shrinking for 40 years but there is no political appetite—at least under the current government—to reverse this. Policies are instead addressed at making some private housing more affordable and at increasing access to owner occupation by allowing more social tenants to buy their homes. The government has increased its control over the financial affairs of social landlords, who are responding by concentrating on those areas of activity where control is less stringent.

Evidence Matters: Spring 2017

Building technology, the focus of this edition of Evidence Matters, plays a significant role in increasing housing affordability at a time when many U.S. households are experiencing high housing cost burdens. Advances in building materials and processes can not only reduce construction costs but also long-term maintenance and operation expenditures by improving the energy efficiency, durability, and resilience of housing. Ensuring that homes are durable and disaster resistant is especially vital to fostering community resilience in areas vulnerable to natural disasters. Strategies for long-term resilience should be considered not just when rebuilding after a disaster but also as part of regular regional and city planning. This issue looks at some of the innovative building materials and technologies and their potential impacts on residential construction costs, energy performance, and resilience and durability when exposed to harsh climates and natural hazards.

New urban development: looking back to see forward

The recent recession is one result of how local planning laws and practices have stifled competition, discouraged innovation, and artificially pushed up prices in America's most economically vibrant regions. Economist and consultant Claude Gruen unravels the story behind how these unintended consequences have resulted from the evolution of local zoning, growth controls, and laws intended to increase housing affordability. New Urban Development traces how locally induced housing cost increases led federal policy-makers to toss out the safeguards against lending excesses that had been put in place during the 1930s. But the story begins much earlier, during the colonial era, continuing up through the mortgage collapse that ushered in the recession of 2008. In his sweeping history of these issues, Gruen considers gentrification, environmentalism, sprawl, anti-sprawl movements, and more. His clarification of how urban development change occurs backs up his recommendations for increasing the production of housing and replacing obsolete commercial and industrial spaces with development that serves the twenty-first-century economy. New Urban Development specifies thirteen changes to policies at the federal, state, and local levels to provide better and less expensive urban housing, desirable neighborhoods, and thriving workplaces across the country.

Affordable Housing: Concepts and Policies*

This article discusses the concepts of housing affordability and policies for increasing housing affordability. Most current measures of housing affordability used in Australia are based on the acquisition costs of housing. They define housing costs in nominal rather than in real terms and include mortgage repayments that are properly regarded as savings. Moreover, they do not account for household choice over type of house or household composition. The first part of this article proposes that measures of housing affordability should be based on real housing user costs or rents. Turning to policy issues, this article argues that housing affordability is essentially a household income problem made worse by government restrictions on housing supply. High housing costs do not reflect housing market failures. To reduce housing costs, the government should allow more housing in established and Greenfield areas. The government may also improve housing affordability by subsidising housing for low‐income households. However, subsidies to urban infrastructure nearly always raise the price of land rather than reduce the price of housing. Also, the Australian government’s proposed national housing and rental affordability funds are poorly defined and likely to be ineffective.

Property Tax in Urban China

AbstractThis paper examines China's urban housing sector and proposes that property tax reform be undertaken. Specifically, China should significantly reduce taxes on transactions and introduce property taxes during the possession of houses. This will increase housing affordability as a result of lower transaction costs, reduce speculation because of the higher opportunity cost of holding vacant houses, stabilize the fiscal system by generating more sustainable tax revenue, and improve the efficiency and fairness of the property tax system according to the principles of “ability‐to‐pay” and “user pays”.

Canada's increasing housing affordability burdens

This study uses national survey and census data on shelter costs and income to describe changes in the proportion and the number of low‐income households spending more than half of their income on shelter. While affordability problems increased consistently over the last two decades for almost all classes of households, the problems are highly concentrated among those with low‐incomes. Women household maintainers are significantly more likely to experience problems and the number of income recipients in a household is a key indicator of a potential problem. While all regions and major cities had increasing problems, the data show major differences across regions and urban centres. No correlation is found between the growth of cities or the growth in rent levels and the growth of the proportion of low‐income households with severe affordability problems. Housing prices were remarkably stable during the 1990s and cannot be claimed as the main cause of the escalating problem. However, strong correlations relate the growth of affordability problems to city size and to the prevailing rent level, suggesting that land rent is a factor in determining the problem's spatial incidence and that continued concentration of the population in major cities will continue to fuel the growth of the problem. The most disturbing finding is that, for the most vulnerable groups, the prevalence and severity of affordability problems worsened during the 1990s, reflecting the consequences of a larger and longer trend toward increasing income inequality in Canadian society. The paper points to other research which links the affordability issue to homelessness and argues that the trends in affordability burdens be considered as ripe for serious policy intervention at all three levels of government. While specific policy conclusions cannot be based on this study, the results do point to the growing need for a change in Canadian housing policy.

Characteristics of post-socialist urban transformation in East Central Europe

The development of the post-socialist city has already been characterised by substantial restructuring processes. Particular emphasis should be drawn to the take-off of the tertiary sector and the comprehensive blight phenomena in the previously industrial areas. The urban housing sector has witnessed increasing housing affordability problems, a marginalisation of communal housing stock, an increase of segregation and an intensification of the decay in the old housing stock. In all East Central European states the spatial development processes of industry and services within the cities basically show clear parallels to the pattern of urban development in continental Europe. In Hungary housing policy, tenure structure and the level of segregation already show relatively closer similarities to the neoliberal, Anglo–American pattern of development. The other ECE states show closer similarities to the corporatist welfare states of continental Europe. As far as medium-term urban development in East Central Europe is concerned, it is to be assumed that – regardless of the specific path of further development – overall solutions shall not be found for the fundamental problems which are the legacy of the socialist era – the decay of old housing stock, large scale derelict industrial areas and the extent and deficiencies of high-rise housing estates.

Measuring Ontario's increasing housing affordability problem

This empirical study measures the prevalence and incidence of housing affordability problems in Canada in 1972, 1976, and 1983. It shows the affordability problem has not been improved by the major effort the Canadian governments made during the 1970s. Rent controls have not been adequate in reducing affordability problems. Moderate intervention in the housing market are not enough to help low income households attain affordable housing. The problem's resolution may require a major effort to stimulate housing supply, and by direct government involvement, adjustment in creating new methods and institutions for building and delivering housing services. Housing affordability problems will remain unresolved in the absence of major income redistribution programs.