Meeting needs through community housing in NSW
Summary
Equity Economics collaborated with the Community Housing Industry Association (CHIA NSW) on new research exploring the need for greater investment in NSW community housing.
With over 50,000 NSW families on social housing waitlists , we forecast that the state needs to build, on average, an additional 5,000 social housing units per year over the next 30 years to meet and maintain the OECD average.
Based on a model development this would require approximately $2.2 billion per year in building and land costs if NSW built all this housing through its own Land and Housing Corporation.
Equity Economics modelling found that delivering the additional social housing needed through community housing would generate an ROI over 50 per cent higher, from the perspective of the NSW Government, compared to delivery through public housing.
Findings
By leveraging the community housing sector’s ability to borrow and receive additional commonwealth funding, the NSW government can deliver these additional 5,000 housing units per year for less:
$631 million less if delivered exclusively through community housing; and
$316 million less if delivered 50:50 through community housing and the state government’s Land and Housing Corporation.
The report demonstrates building an additional 5,000 homes per year would deliver economic and social benefits:
16,200 construction jobs each year
$5.2 billion in additional economic activity each year
750 less people entering homelessness each year, saving $13 million each year in avoided costs (including health expenditure)
Improved health, social, educational and employment outcomes leading to long term improvements in productivity that would, on previous estimates, equate to at least $3,818 per household in Sydney and $158 per household in regional NSW
The report also details the impact of community housing through the stories of tenants in NSW.
Read the full report
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