The high-end inner-city suburbs of Melbourne and Sydney are set to face rental and mortgage stresses of 159.9% in 2021, way beyond the typical 30% threshold. Due to the halting of the JobKeeper wage subsidies and the $150 supplement to JobSeeker unemployment benefits late March 2021, housing stress is set to double in some suburbs by June 2021 compared with February 2020 before the Covid-19 pandemic. With unemployment and lower incomes looming over many households, residents will find it hard to afford their homes.
The areas with the highest stresses, according to Equity Economics are:
1. Sydney city and inner south: up 159.5 per cent
2. Sydney Baulkham Hills, Hawkesbury: up 135.5 per cent
3. Melbourne inner: up 126 per cent
4. Sydney Inner West: up 100.5 per cent
5. Newcastle, Lake Macquarie: up 78 per cent
6. Sydney eastern suburbs: up 72.8 per cent
7. Sydney north shore: up 72.4 per cent
8. NSW Hunter Valley: 72.2 per cent
9. Geelong: 62.7 per cent
10. Brisbane east: 35.2 per cent
Source: Equity Economics analysis of the proportion of households struggling with mortgage or rents that have been reduced from two to one income. Forecast for June 2021 is compared with February 2020
