Australians set to punish politicians who don’t deliver on housing

Scott Kuru December 5, 2024 4 min read

Image from Bloomberg

KEY POINTS

New polling has confirmed that Australians see housing as a key issue at the next Federal election
The survey shows a majority of voters believe that the housing crisis is getting worse and the Albanese Labor government is not doing enough to alleviate the problem
The polling also shows that a majority of those surveyed are in favour of more high-density development in their own suburb

New polling confirms that housing will be a key issue at the next Federal election, due to be held in the first half of 2025.

The survey of 1,600 Australians was conducted between the 11th and 18th of November.

Crucially, 622 of the participants polled live in key “swing” seats, which often decide the outcomes of national elections.

They are Bennelong (NSW - Labor - 1% margin), Fowler (NSW - Independent -1.6% margin), Ryan (QLD - Greens - 2.6% margin), Tangney (WA - Labor - 2.4%), Curtin (WA - Independent - 1.3%), Menzies (VIC - Liberal - 0.7%) and Braddon (TAS - Liberal - 8%).

The survey, conducted by research firm Insightfully on behalf of the building industry lobby group Master Builders Australia, also clearly indicates that voters are prepared to punish political parties they perceive aren’t doing enough to solve the ongoing crisis.

The details

‘Housing is becoming a privilege and is becoming not an option to many.’

That disturbing observation from a woman aged between 55 and 64 from New South Wales is indicative of the kind of comments the team at Insightfully gathered while conducting their recent survey on the housing crisis for Master Builders Australia.

Their polling found that “Cost of Living” was the most common worry for Australian voters, and when they drilled down into that broader topic, they found housing affordability was the top concern.

Among other findings:

90% of voters surveyed say it’s difficult to afford to buy or rent property in Australia
85% agree there is a shortage of housing in Australia
7 in 10 say the housing crisis is damaging the quality of life in their community
7 in 10 say the housing crisis has gotten worse over the last 12 months
68% of renters who want to buy a home believe they will not achieve that goal within the next 5 years
One in four voters surveyed say they have struggled to pay their rent or mortgage in the last 12 months
An astonishing 1 in 3 polled say they have gone without essentials like food, medicine or education to pay their rent or mortgage in the last 12 months.

“These are very sombre figures – households and businesses are hurting,” says Master Builders CEO Denita Wawn.

“We've seen the housing crisis worsen over the last 18 months, with more than one in three Australians now going without essentials like food or medicine to pay their rent or mortgage.

“This Christmas, while many will be decorating their homes, a large share will be trying to keep their home.

“Housing and cost of living must be front and centre this federal election,” Ms Wawn says.

It’s clear that voters agree.

Voters angry about housing

Two out of three voters surveyed by Insightfully say the Federal Government is most responsible for addressing the housing crisis.

And even though the Albanese Labor government has only been in office for two and a half years, 70% of those polled say it has not done enough when it comes to housing.

“The majority of Australians think the Federal Government has more to do to solve the housing crisis, and Master Builders agrees,” Denita Wawn says.

In fact, 68% of those surveyed say the housing crisis has gotten worse over the last year, including a majority who identify as “Labor voters”.

However, this isn’t necessarily good news for the Coalition, with voters divided on which party is best placed to deal with the housing crisis.

Solutions

The voters surveyed were also presented with a number of proposed solutions to the housing crisis, and almost all of these options found majority support.

It’s worth noting, however, that many of these proposed “solutions” reflect Master Builders’ current lobbying campaign, which has a heavy focus on industrial relations and the return of a building industry watchdog, like the defunct Australian Building and Construction Commission.

Nevertheless, the survey did find - somewhat surprisingly - that a majority of those polled supported more high-density housing development in their own area.

This has often proved to be a bit of a deal-breaker in previous surveys, with people generally supporting higher-density living but not in their own suburbs.

Despite state governments wanting to curb “urban sprawl”, Insightfully found nearly seven in ten voters in favour of more “greenfields” housing developments.

Six in ten voters were in favour of lower immigration, but the survey group was evenly split when they were asked if the number of international students should be cut.

There was also no majority support for bringing in more tradies skilled in construction from overseas.

“It's clear this upcoming federal election, voters will be looking at all parties for real and tangible solutions to the housing crisis, and we urge them to work with industry to make this happen,” Master Builders Denita Wawn says.