Evaluating Tenure Mix Interventions: A Case Study from Sydney,Australia

Policies of tenure mix, by removing concentrations of social housing or through the application of inclusionary zoning-type powers to new developments, are being pursued throughout Australia and in the USA, the UK and New Zealand. Implementing this tenure mix policy agenda requires significant intervention into urban areas that currently have concentrations of social housing, through programmes of regeneration or renewal. Despite this policy agenda, research on the benefits of tenure mix has produced inconclusive evidence, both in Australia and internationally. The paper reports on research undertaken in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, which tests a method of evaluating tenure mix policy. The exploratory method uses dwelling price data as a proxy for measuring amenity or ‘neighbourhood quality’ changes from tenure mix interventions.     

Bridging the Gap between Housing Stress and Financial Stress: The Case of Australia

In recent decades, housing affordability has been increasingly linked to household financial outcomes where high housing costs relative to income are perceived to negatively affect financial well-being. However, the traditional measure of housing affordability in Australia is housing stress, which is subject to widespread criticism as an inadequate representation of overall financial stress. This methodological paper first determines the extent to which housing stress correlates with experiences of financial stress and, second, demonstrates ways in which the measure can be modified to deliver a more reliable indication of how housing costs affect financial well-being. The study contributes to the international literature by showing how the use of longitudinal data can improve the measure of housing stress providing a more accurate assessment of the relationship between housing costs and financial well-being.     

Millennials in the Housing Market: The Transition to Ownership in Challenging Contexts

In the context of rising housing costs, volatile housing markets and changing family structures, I examine the transition to ownership of young adults, and specifically the ownership paths of the Millennial generation. I examine the cohort ownership trajectories within the United States, between 2000 and 2015, and by region and race/ethnicity. The cohort transitions capture the strongly regional and ethnic outcomes of entry to ownership, and the effects of the financial crisis. All groups have much lower rates of ownership entry than earlier cohorts. There is likely to be an adjustment of the path to ownership in the long run and the current outcomes provide evidence that those trajectories will vary by region and race. It does appear that the changing trajectory of access will contribute further to the already growing inequality in cities.     

A systematic review of outcomes associated with participation in Housing First programs

Housing First (HF) models have gained popularity among many politicians, policy-makers, and social service providers. Proponents of this model argue for its strength by drawing on research evidence. In other words, the use of HF is deemed an ‘evidence-based practice.’ Despite this, a strong synthesis of the evidence used to champion these models is lacking. This article seeks to address this gap, with a review focused on outcomes associated with participation in HF programs. Specifically, we investigate the details of program design coupled with specific outcomes, so as to better inform future action and research. We conclude that the research forming the evidence base for HF is methodologically strong. However, additional research is needed to determine the benefits of HF for diverse populations. Additional research is also required to conclusively determine the impact of HF on substance use and psychiatric treatment. We recommend that policy-makers consider the needs of local populations when developing and implementing HF programing.     

A Nested Housing Market Structure: Additional Evidence

This paper analyses the housing market and its structure in Málaga, a medium-size European city, which has become one of the main Spanish tourist destinations and thus one of the most active housing markets in Spain. This has led to coastal land being misused to the extent that it has almost been used up. First, the market as a whole is studied using the hedonic methodology. Then a method is presented which segments the market into sub-markets, following an ad hoc design based on two criteria: structural (vertical and horizontal dwellings) and location (proximity to the coast). The results show that this segmentation method is efficient, demonstrating implicit attribute prices as well as final house prices which are statistically different from each other, above all when dwellings are next to the coast and between those further away. Finally, some implications for urban policy are drawn.     

Building the Connection Between Housing Needs and Metropolitan Planning in Sydney,Australia

The theme of a more compact city has been a central feature of planning policy for Sydney's development over the last two decades. Urban consolidation, in the form of attached dwellings in medium- and high-density configurations, has become the predominant form of new residential development since the early 1990s. One of the largely untested claims for this policy is that it provides more housing choice for an increasingly diverse population and that simply building larger amounts of smaller housing in high-density concentrations will be sufficient to meet that demand. As a result, planning for higher density housing has been undertaken with little explicit recognition of the housing sub-markets higher density housing caters for or their specific spatial characteristics within the city. These issues are examined by an analysis of the socio-economic characteristics of areas with high concentrations of attached housing. These data are processed by factor analysis to identify and locate the range of sub-markets within attached housing and additional small area data used to fill out the market profiling. The results reveal that a range of specific housing needs are met by this form of housing with discriminative characteristics in certain locations. In other words, higher density housing is associated with a range of locationally specific and spatially distinctive sub-markets. These findings are particularly relevant and timely as a new metropolitan strategy is in preparation for Sydney where an estimated 60–70 per cent of new dwelling provision in the next 30 years will take place within existing suburbs through higher density redevelopment. Planning for such development must take into account the local markets for such accommodation which have very different characteristics in different parts of the city.     

Living on the Margins: Comparing Older Private Renters and Older Public Housing Tenants in Sydney,Australia

An increasing number of older Australians are dependent on the private rental market for their accommodation. Through the use of semi-structured in-depth interviews, the life circumstances of older renters (65 plus) in both public housing and private rented accommodation in Sydney are explored and compared. Using Amartya Sen's concepts of capabilities and functionings, the study illustrates that due mainly to lower accommodation costs and greater security of tenure, the public housing tenants interviewed had far greater capability to live a life they valued. In contrast, most interviewees in the private rental market were struggling financially and were extremely anxious about their security of tenure. Their capacity to control their present and their future was very limited.     

The VFT Project: A Rail Union View

Homeownership has been one of the best long‐term investments in Canada. Despite demographic, economic and social trends that would normally be associated with relatively stagnant trends in housing prices, investment in housing continues to provide owners in most areas of the country with attractive rates of return. However, national trends hide considerable variation. Not all regions, or all groups in society, have been able to capitalize on the wealth associated with increases in housing prices. Many real estate analysts are also concerned that the appreciation in prices over the past couple of decades is not a trend that will continue in the future. There is cautious optimism, but owning a home in the future is unlikely to be the valued investment it was for many in the past.     

为老年人构筑可持续居住环境——以日本高龄者住宅为例

本文对日本高龄者住宅居住设施的类型和高龄者的居住现状进行了考察,并列举了高龄者租赁住宅的三个实例,归纳出日本高龄者住宅的特点和发展动向,以期获得对中国老年人可持续居住环境构筑的有益启示.     

DIY Home Improvements in a Post-Soviet Housing Market: A Socio-Spatial Analysis of Vilnius,Lithuania

As part of the Large Analysis and Review of European housing and health Status (LARES), the WHO collected data in eight European cities during 2001 and 2002. Using this data, the paper analyses home-related ‘do-it-yourself (DIY)’ activities in Vilnius, Lithuania where housing was privatized following the collapse of Communism. The paper investigates whether DIY activities were prevalent near the ‘Old Town’ where officials encouraged renovation. It was found that overall, DIY activities were prevalent among households in 2001–2002 regardless of socio-economic status. However, residents of particular housing types were not more likely to engage in DIY activities nor was DIY activity associated with condition of buildings and open spaces between buildings. Nonetheless, perceptions of neighborhood quality were important in explaining DIY activity. The findings also show that DIY activity was no greater in/near the gentrifying city center than elsewhere. Interviews with Vilnius officials suggest several aspects of the local household or neighborhood environment not captured by the survey that help explain study findings.     

Conceptualising Social Housing within the Wider Housing Market: A Vacancy Chain Model

There have been increasing calls for studies of housing systems that are more integrative and pluralistic in nature. Understanding the relationship of social housing systems to the wider housing market remains a key challenge. The mobility of households and the structural configuration of supply are both of importance, demanding methods able to reconcile both. This paper propounds vacancy chain models as offering significant potential in this regard, allowing policy analysis and options appraisal to be built on more dynamic conceptualisations of housing systems. The theoretical basis for vacancy chain models is developed before an account is given of a model developed of the Bradford (UK) social rented sector. The results suggest that social renting is very closely linked to the wider housing market and consequently the impacts of policy and investment may be felt beyond the sector. Observations on the future development of vacancy chain models are offered.     

Home ownership into the new millennium: A view from the margin

The late 1990s saw the beginnings of a decline in Australia's high rate of home ownership. This trend, especially among younger people, appears to be driven by a complex of economic, social and demographic forces. The paper looks at this development from one specific viewpoint: the phenomenon of mortgage default. Recent data suggests a rise in the number of people falling into arrears on their mortgages, in some cases to the point of default. The paper surveys this outcome and analyses the factors responsible. Data drawn from the experiences of a state government mortgage lender is used to test the factors isolated in the literature as significant in this respect.     

Home ownership into the new millennium: A view from the margin

Abstract

The late 1990s saw the beginnings of a decline in Australia's high rate of home ownership. This trend, especially among younger people, appears to be driven by a complex of economic, social and demographic forces. The paper looks at this development from one specific viewpoint: the phenomenon of mortgage default. Recent data suggests a rise in the number of people falling into arrears on their mortgages, in some cases to the point of default. The paper surveys this outcome and analyses the factors responsible. Data drawn from the experiences of a state government mortgage lender is used to test the factors isolated in the literature as significant in this respect.     

The Influence of Immigration on Global City Housing Markets: The Canadian Perspective

Current demographic trends in Canada include population aging and declining household growth. These trends generally result in falling housing demand and stable or declining house prices. Housing markets in Canada's major cities, however, have been characterized by increases in demand and prices in recent years; due in large part to the influence of arriving immigrants. The destinations of 76 percent of international immigrants to Canada are the three global cities—Toronto, Vancouver and Montreal—where they have a very significant effect on housing demand, particularly as under current immigration policy many of those arriving come with considerable wealth. Their influence, however, is much broader and includes the growth of exclusive, prosperous immigrant neighbourhoods, new architectural designs and other neighbourhood changes. Not all immigrants, however, arrive with wealth. Many are poor, live in less attractive neighbourhoods and pay unrealistic amounts of their inadequate incomes for poor quality housing. Some end up homeless on the street. The role of immigrants in housing markets is an important consideration for urban and housing policy.     

住宅产业化进程中的居住隔离——以上海为例

论述了现阶段我国居住隔离的社会经济背景,并以上海为例,从多层次的住宅供应体系、居住隔离的空间分布、居住隔离的外部表征三方面对其加以考察,重点描述居住隔离的空间特征。最后指出,在住宅产业化进程中,遏制居住隔离现象是我国城市住宅建设的当务之急。     

新一轮房地产调控中的住房政策及其效果分析

为了解政府对住房市场宏观调控采取政策的执行效果,采用定性分析的方法对住房市场宏观调控中的金融、房贷和土地政策进行分析。在梳理总结各类政策的基础上,分析政策出台规律、政策实施效果以及造成市场现状的根源及深层次原因。结合政策特点和问题根源,提出相应的政策建议改善住房市场调控现状,建立住房市场宏观调控的长效机制。     

The Past and Future of Housing Policy Innovation: The Case of US State Housing Trust Funds

State governments are increasingly expected to help fill the gap between the demand and supply of affordable housing within the US. Little systematic attention has been paid to state housing strategies over the years, despite a lengthening record of policy innovation. This paper asks what factors influence state adoption of housing trust funds (HTFs), and if these factors differ based on how the trust fund is financed and which state agency is responsible for administering it. Utilizing an event history analysis of pooled cross-sectional data, the paper finds that whether or not a state adopts a HTF, who administers it, and how they fund it, varies based on rates of new, single-family development, the size of the black population, prior state housing expenditures, and citizen ideology. The broader implications of these findings are considered for future housing policy innovations beyond states and HTFs.     

Social Networks in Public and Community Housing: The Impact on Employment Outcomes

This article seeks to examine some of the ways in which social networks may contribute to employment outcomes for community and public housing tenants. There is a body of literature that explores the relationship between social networks and employment outcomes, and a separate literature on the relationship between housing and social networks (which is largely concerned with homeowners). However, there has been little research that links all three aspects, especially in relation to social housing. This provides a starting point for this research, which involved interviews with housing organisation staff and focus groups with tenants in two case study areas in metropolitan Adelaide, South Australia. This article reports on the findings through examining the way in which housing tenure may affect social network formation, and considering the ways that these networks can impact on job attainment. It is concluded that, overall, those in community housing appeared to fare better, in terms of employment-conducive networks, than those in public housing. This finding is related not just to the management of the housing, but also to the broader issues of stigma, area-level deprivation and intergenerational unemployment.     

Governing the Compact City: The Challenges of Apartment Living in Sydney,Australia

This paper addresses the challenges facing the strata sector in Sydney in the context of current Australian metropolitan planning strategies promoting increased urban consolidation. It argues that the current focus on higher density development is vulnerable to challenges of regulation, representation and termination in strata developments. Furthermore, the increasing size and complexity of strata schemes as well as the existence of ageing strata stock are placing pressure on the strata title system in NSW and these problems are likely to escalate as an increasing proportion of the population move into strata. Therefore, it is essential to comprehend the issues facing strata developments if they are to be effectively tackled. The concept of ‘governance’ provides one mechanism for improving this understanding.     

Housing Finance Reform in the Making: The Case of the Netherlands

Current housing finance systems are mostly a poor reflection of the government's policy priorities. This paper explains how the current Dutch housing finance system works, and analyses its weaknesses against the backdrop of a well-functioning housing market and national policy goals. It specifically looks at recent proposals and some building blocks for future housing finance reform in the Netherlands. The paper ends with conclusions on the potential relevance of the analysis for other European countries.