Why Living In Australia Is Impossible

Australia has the 13th largest economy in the world, wonderful beaches, access to world class education, universal healthcare and much more. At the same time, Australian housing prices and rental rates have reached record highs, ranking Australia as one of the most unaffordable places in the world.

In this documentary, we explore the key causes of Australia’s affordability crisis. We discuss immigration, bureaucratic red tape, tax incentives, declining investment and more. At the end of it we uncover the real reason why Australia’s housing market is out of control and suggest ideas to fix it.

00:00 - Intro
00:49 - Chapter 1: Housing and Rental Crisis
03:30 - Chapter 2: Immigration
05:00 - Chapter 3: Not Building Enough Homes
08:07 - Chapter 4: Tax Incentives (negative gearing, supers, and capital gains)
10:52 - Chapter 5: Declining Productivity and Investment
13:02 - Chapter 6: The Solution and Conclusion

Editing ► 2&20 Team

[and]

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Tell us why YOU think Australia is facing a cost of living crisis.

The most insightful comment wins $50 (yes, that's Canadian dollars aka Monopoly money)!

[Nf]

If you haven't grown up in Australia it's very hard to understand the country's obsession with investing in property. It's like a national sport over here.

[MGsyd]

The scary thing is that when you finally buy your dream house which cost you a fortune, you finally realise that it’s poorly built and sinks and there’s nothing you can do because in the meantime the builder has gone bust

[BeastMasterNeil]

On average, politicians in Australia own 7 rental investment properties each. Explains a whole lot.

[Greyraes]

I'm an Australian in Sydney. When i was 15 in highschool i drew myself a little financial map during a free period and quoted myself a minimum figure i needed to make to move out. I started working service at 16, followed the masses and got a uni degree. Im 26 now, i make much more than my little finanical map figure and serveral times more than my migrant parents at the time they purchased their home. I live frugally and do not vacation.

I am still at home with my mother, i would not qualify for a home loan and will not for a very long time. It's been a decade now and none of my friends own homes or are married, many of them have given up on having children in the future. On top of that we are sadled with thousands of dollars of HECS debt that we can barely put a dent in while they are raising the interest. Our landlord raises the rent each year but will not fix a leaky roof. I am exhausted and burnt out after a decade and now contemplating joining my friends on giving up on a family so that i may still try to see the world while i'm still young.
I thought i was getting a head start but im watching more fortunate kids beat me while their parents own multiple properties for them to live in. In every aspect i try to save in, monopolised inflation catches up. Now they are trying to collectively push young people off medicare.
As awful as it is to say, i feel like my life might only start if one terrible day my father passes and i recieve a share of his property....but even then it would probably be too late for my age.
Now which boomer wants to tell me i'm a lazy POS and need to skip the coffees and avo toast?

[johnnysmith]

The system is not broken it's working exactly as intended. Politicians and their mates are richer than ever.

[angryconsultant]

Australia and Canada two commonwealth countries who are plagued by ineffective governments, and some of the world’s worst affordability crises ever

[shaunfox]

My father build a home on QLD's Sunshine Coast in 1996, it was a house and land package and he paid around $127K all up. He sold it in 2018 for $550K and in Feb 2024 it sold for $1.1M. My mother bought a 30+ year old home in Brisbane in 1992 for $110K, it sold for $445K in 2015 and today its estimated sale value is between $890K- $920K. These weren't large homes or in prime locations, just standard suburban homes in backstreets. Its no surprise many younger people have given up on the idea of home ownership.

[ammarX]

Imagine having an entire continent to yourself and still have trouble finding a place to live.

[tullymoffat]

Aussie here - the biggest issue without a doubt is the tax incentives. A really simple solution is to allow negative gearing on 1 house - that way, mum and dad investment properties are not affected, but those owning 20, 50, 300 houses are not able to snatch up everything available! Currently an investment group can just write off squillians in tax by purchasing more and more properties.

In the last census - 10% of all homes in Australia were vacant, tax that shit. We shouldn’t allow people to buy a house and just sit there without having people in it - having a place to live should be a right, not an investment.

[medianvideos]

I'm Australian, and last year I had to leave my rental apartment in Melbourne. Rent prices soared from around $420 per week in 2020 to $650-$700 per week for a similar two-bedroom apartment by 2023. As a teacher, I was forced to move when the owner sold the property, facing skyrocketing rents with no available options. The situation became so dire that I had to return to my hometown of Perth (after living in Melbourne for 20 years), relying on my cousin's kindness for shelter. I'm still here, where rentals start at $550 per week, and any decent apartment costs between $650 and $800 per week. I had to give away thousands of dollars' worth of furniture in Melbourne and leave my friends behind, completely uprooting my life. This greedy, appalling housing crisis has turned my world upside down, and now I have to start over as a mature aged man.

[j]

Another massive problem is that negatively geared landlords are LOATHE to make even necessary repairs. They don't want to pay for anything on a property they are already losing money on! Huge problem with mold in Aus properties too.

[xkayaaa]

90s babies are doomed here. Finished high school in 2012 with savings from part time work, all these goals and plans; married, kids and a home by mid to late 20s... I'm now 30, single, broke af living with mum and working to pay for rent and food. Don't even start with grocery prices. Boomer family members are all like, "just enjoy the present".... like fkn over it.

[MTDdz]

I’m a software engineer I earn 140k. I used to want a house and family in Australia. Now I’m planning how I can find a new country to live in. This place is an economic black hole. Politicians will never solve it.

[anomie]

As someone who lives in Australia, the housing crisis is out of control, rents have gone up, bulk billed doctors are a rarity now. It seems like a lot of the public services has decreased in quality. Many people now are moving out of the major cities to live in regional towns for a simpler and more affordable lifestyle.

[its.kirakira]

as a 19 year old uni student in Melbourne, it's exhausting and almost impossible to be approved for rentals. it's ridiculous. everyone deserves a place to live.

[renderinginprogress]

reason why I left Australia 5 years ago. Moved to Europe, met many Aussies who have done the same. And we're all very happy here :)

[cynthiawu]

There's a common saying here in Australia. "It's easier to buy your second and third property than your first." Which says a lot.

[Legalpigeon]

One of the main issues is that politicians still consider high house prices as a sign of a 'great market' despite the fact that it means people can't own their own home.

[bethells]

The British commonwealth countries are the only places in the world where one can buy freehold properties with no restrictions. Yet non-commonwealth countries will not allow outsiders to simply buy and invest in real estate. So, the problem started when Australia (and NZ) opened the floodgates to non-commonwealth country citizens who had a lot of cash, or were able to borrow at below 1% interest from banks in their home country. Like it or not, this is the brutal truth people keep ignoring. Its these peoples from non-commonwealth countries who just keep snapping up houses at any cost. Also these people In NZ they are building really tiny houses at alarming rate, no restrictions at all. Seems to be a lost case where local peoples are being pushed out through legal means.