Is Northern Beaches housing affordability moving towards crisis point?

Some might say ‘housing affordability’ is at a crisis point in Sydney, and that certainly seems to be the case here on the Beaches.

As desirable as it is to live here, it’s simply out of reach for many, particularly young people trying to break into the market, or our very important key workers.

As a guide, to be ‘affordable’ housing costs shouldn’t exceed 30% of a person’s income. Doing the maths, this just doesn’t add up for many workers.

Let’s look at average rent for a Northern Beaches unit as an example. At $625/week*, using the 30% rule, you’d need an average weekly income $2,083 or almost $110,000/year after tax.

The upper end of a childcare educator’s annual salary is around $75,000. Starting salary for a NSW police officer is $73,000. A bus driver or disability support worker is similar. To live locally, they’d need to outlay more than 30% of their income, leaving little to pay for all other living essentials.

Buying is even more difficult. The average price for a unit on the Northern Beaches is $1.084 million and the average price for a house is $2.192 million*. It’s easy to see why many people can’t afford to save for deposits and then service a mortgage.

Herein lies the reason for more diverse housing options, what we call the ‘missing middle’ – dual occupancies, terraces, townhouses and shared accommodation. There is also a need for more social housing in cases where people just cannot afford to access the private housing market.

In fact, we’ve identified that right now we have a shortage of over 8,100 dwellings for social and affordable housing on the Beaches which is predicted to grow by another 1,880 by 2036.

Meeting the housing needs of residents and would-be residents, in the face of population growth trends, household type changes and lifestyle issues, is a complex challenge for which there is no easy fix. 

We have developed a Draft Local Housing Strategy outlining how and where future housing will be delivered to meet our community's needs over the next 20 years.

Find out more and have your say before 7 March.

*Department of Communities and Justice, December 2020