Flooding in Ballina, in the Northern Rivers of NSW.Last modified on Sun 6 Mar 2022 16.33 GMT
Digby Hughes, senior policy officer at Homelessness NSW, describes the Northern Rivers housing market pre-floods as “beyond dire”.Rental vacancy rates in the region have hovered around 0.6%, according to Leo Patterson Ross, chief executive of the Tenants’ Union of NSW, compared with a healthy natural vacancy rate of somewhere between 3-5%.
Based on SQM Research property data, Patterson Ross estimated the Northern Rivers was 2,300 homes short of a healthy tenancy rate ahead of the floods. “I’d worked really hard to get back into the private rental market only to be forced out because I can’t afford it,” she said. “It’s definitely an example of what’s to come for these areas facing flooding now.”Others would seek to share houses with extended family or friends, which can be “fine for a week or two but long term it really causes issues, both for people’s health and their relationships really suffer”.
“It’s a really complex issue, and means balancing the need for tourist money and employment. But at a time like this it highlights you do need the housing to ensure the community can stay, not be displaced and recover together.”
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Source: 9NewsSyd - 🏆 23. / 51 Read more »