Insane housing crisis for young professionals

Young professionals have become a means to an end to pay off other people’s mortgages and fund high interest rates, and things are worst in the regions where young people are often starting their careers and sometimes forced to couch surf.

When I moved to Gympie at the start of the year to take on a position as a full-time journalist, I never thought nine months into my job I’d find myself homeless, couch-surfing with family, and having to commute more than an hour to work each day – becoming an unlikely victim in an ongoing housing crisis.

Working as a journalist in regional Qld has always been on my bucket list, and when I started working at The Gympie Times at the start of the year I was looking forward to the professional experience I would get living regionally – the stories here I believe, are richer, truer and rawer than in the big cities.

I’m single, under 40 and with no family or dependants, my interests are career progression and socialising.

I earn a full-time wage, come with good references, and am barely home on weekends.

Pomona is a 30 minute drive south of Gympie.

While I’ve written off trying to buy my own home, I never thought I would be facing constant housing insecurity.

The Regional Australia Institute vacancy rates estimates there are more than 8000 jobs from the Sunshine Coast northward to Gladstone, roughly 20 per cent fall within the professional category of medical, health, legal, engineering, business and science.

But if professionals move to the regions, where to put them?

It took me two months to find a room, and not even in Gympie, but in Pomona, a reasonable 30-minute commute north to the Gympie CBD – one room in a four-bedroom house for $260/week, bills included.

I don’t ask for much in a house – a clean kitchen and bathroom, a sunny and quiet bedroom, and living areas I can feel comfortable and safe in.

Young professionals are becoming a means to an end to pay off others mortgages, counteract rising interest rates, and it’s even worse in regional areas.

But renters like me, it seems, are rapidly moving lower on the housing chain. 

We are becoming a means to an end to pay off mortgages, counteract rising interest rates, and a good alternative to lazy owners who want the Airbnb rates, but don’t want to clean up after guests every weekend.

Seven months later, I find myself in the same position once again.

The landlord, who also lives there despite owning other properties, decides to rent out what was his son’s holiday room to a friend every weekend, then promptly rents it out to a full-time tenant with two dogs.

The house now has four residents and three dogs. It is bursting at the seams and feels like a hostel, I’d rather pay $350 for two-bedroom unit to myself or try to negotiate rent due to the changed conditions.

Thinking the owner will be reasonable, I ask to negotiate rent, but without further discussion he tells me he has to pay rising interest rates, says he wants to hire a cleaner, and I need to do more yard work.

Surprised by his response without justification or discussion I no longer feel comfortable in the house and give my two weeks notice.

I find some options through flatmates.com.au: one is a house on the other side of Pomona for $275/week, but after a couple of days that turns into $300/week, the owner mentioned the mortgage on the house, an investment property.

A couple of options turn up in Gympie for $220/week but quickly pass. I’m back to couch-surfing with family in Maroochydore.

I often wonder if I am too picky about where I live; am I being too fragile? Or do I just need to find work elsewhere?

For example, the Sunshine Coast is only an hour away from Gympie, but has much more on offer socially, and rental prices are reasonable for the quality of the accommodation.

Young professionals are becoming a means to an end to pay off others mortgages and counteract rising interest rates, and it’s worst in regional areas.

I’m often told the young professionals who work in Gympie, live and play on the Sunshine Coast and I feel there is no other option.

A lot of the social events in Gympie I attend, I often struggle to find anyone under the age of 50.

Young professionals bring colour and vibrancy to cities. We regularly go out for avocado and toast on Sunday morning, we love markets on the weekend, we want to join dance classes, or go to drink and draw events, we want to find the best local music act and support the bar they are playing at.

But without housing security, our presence, our money and our skills are temporary.

Changing the attitude towards rent as a means to pay off a mortgage or rising interest rates would be a good first step.

If the responsibility of mortgage payments and interest rates stayed squarely with the people who took them on in the first place, income from young professionals could be put back into the local economy, rather than back to the banks and covering for loans.

Abandoning the notion of saving to buy a house, sure, I have wriggle room to pay an extra $20-100/week, but wouldn’t that be better spent at the local markets than to a property investor, or back to a bank?

Originally published as Insane housing crisis for young professionals