Housing affordability and accessibility: Tackling a perennial problem
Housing affordability and accessibility seems to be a perennial problem, with each new generation bringing with it a different movement to tackle the issue. New, unconventional investors, landholders and housing providers are bringing novel ideas, materials and business models to create connected, inspired and more sustainable communities.
Housing affordability and accessibility seems to be a perennial problem, with each new generation bringing with it a different movement to tackle the issue – from the Bauhaus of the 1920s to the socially-conscious designers of today.
Part of the difficulty in solving’ the housing issue is its complexity and multifaceted nature. Statutory planning, tax interventions and government incentives can attempt to fix components of the issue on the supply or demand side – but often result in unintended consequences, such as artificially inflated housing prices. Public policy can be a blunt and ineffectual instrument in tackling the delicate issue of housing affordability – with people being the collateral damage.
New players shaking up accessibility
Non-traditional entrants to the housing market such as transport providers, educational institutions and superannuation funds are having a greater influence in creating connected and inspired communities.
These new, unconventional investors, landholders and housing providers are adding diversity, while also appealing to and bringing together different demographics. The colocation of different typologies and mix of housing products to respond to diverse needs and expectations will be a critical lever to underpin thriving communities that support social cohesion and equity in the future.
Housing will be a key enabler of our ability to respond to, and mitigate the impacts of, climate change and other disruptive forces.”
Counting the true cost of housing
To make housing truly accessible – and affordable – cost savings must be embedded across the full lifecycle of a home. While materials play a large part in the base cost of a house, energy and water efficiency must also be built into homes to reduce the operational costs to residents. This particularly applies in the social and affordable housing space, where rising energy bills can mean the difference between choosing to heat or cool a home, or not.
New housing models and materials
New models and materials are also emerging to help tackle housing accessibility and affordability head-on. Modular solutions, for example, lend themselves to repetition, making them a quick-to-assemble and low-cost option for hotels, schools and retirement living. Build-to-rent is a mechanism that is still emerging in Australia and the United Kingdom but has been used successfully in the United States for decades, offering tenants the flexibility of renting with the security of long-term tenure.