If there is a data point that shows how complex Australia’s housing crisis is, it might be 2.55. That’s the average number of people living in a given home across capital cities today, up from the record low of 2.53 in August last year.

Down from an average of 2.59 per home in 2016, the shift, as people working from home want to use the spare bedroom as an office, means an extra 160,000 dwellings are required to house the population. With about a quarter of all properties now home to just one person, it is no wonder housing supply is a key battleground for next year’s federal election.