Critical workers shut-out of Qld’s booming housing markets

A key group of Aussies have been locked out of almost 300 Qld suburbs as prices continue to hit new peaks after the pandemic property boom.

Essential workers have effectively been locked out of almost 300 Queensland suburbs as house prices continue to hit new peaks even after the pandemic property boom.

New research from Suburbtrends has revealed that healthcare and emergency workers, aged care and early childhood staff, and other essential service providers with a top budget of $600,000 have been priced out of 263 of Queensland’s 498 house suburbs, including some of the most populated areas with the biggest critical care needs.

For units, 167 suburbs are now virtually no go zones, either due to a median price above $600,000 or a severe shortage of affordable stock.

Firefighters at the scene of a major fire at Woolloongabba, where a unit might be in reach of essential services but houses are expensive, and few and far between. Picture: QAS

Across Australia, essential workers have been priced out of 1330 suburbs nationally, including 488 in NSW (353 in Sydney), 328 in Victoria (295 in Melbourne), 94 suburbs in the ACT where there are either not enough listings or the median price exceeds $600,000, 74 in Western Australia, 56 in South Australia, 14 in the Northern Territory and 18 in Tasmania.

The research showed there are now only 860 suburbs nationally where a $600,000 budget could still buy a house, well below the number of suburbs that are now unaffordable.

And it is only getting worse, with the latest PropTrack Home Price Index showing that interest rate hikes and inflation have done little to slow growth, with Brisbane values rising 0.27 per cent in August and setting a new peak median for all dwellings (houses and units) at $752,000 --- just $52,000 less than Melbourne.

Greater Brisbane dwellings values (houses and units combined) are now just $52,000 less than Melbourne. Picture: Brendan Radke

It was a similar story in the regions, which posted monthly growth of 0.18 per cent and a new peak of $611,000.

Suburbtrends founder Kent Lardner said the analysis was grim reading.

“It spells out a very different way of living for future generations,” Mr Lardner said.

“Without access to inherited wealth or contributions from parents, many in the coming decades will only know apartment life.

“If we are to keep essential workers in the cities, we may need to start thinking outside the box and back to what was more common during the 19th and early 20th centuries, when Australia was undergoing rapid industrialisation and urbanisation, and that is company housing.

“While this still exists in mining and tourism sectors today, we may need to consider this as an option for many essential workers in some of our most expensive cities.”

Suburbtrends founder Kent Lardner

Essential workers are generally those who can’t work from home, and include sectors such as health and emergency services, utilities, freight and logistics, transport, education, aged care, retail and supply chains.

For the purpose of their research, Suburbtrends looked at agent-advised sales over the past year and analysed the suburbs that would still be affordable to essential workers with a $600,000 budget, even with a further 5 per cent price increase

It found that 171 of the 445 suburbs in Greater Brisbane now had a median house price above $600,000, with zero in the Brisbane LGA, home to the Queensland Children’s Hospital and the Royal Brisbane and Womens Hospital.

RACQ Life Flight chopper coming into land at the RBWH (Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital) Picture David Clark

Essential workers would need to commute from places like Redbank Plains, Woodridge, Inala, Beenleigh, Deception Bay and Kallangur now, just to afford a house under $600,000.

A one-way car trip from Deception Bay to the Queensland Children's Hospital in South Brisbane is already pushing one hour, while it is around half an hour from Inala without congestion.

19 Fornax Street, Inala, in Brisbane sold for bang on $600,000

But even around Queensland’s Fire and Emergency Services HQ in Kedron, houses are off-limits due to skyrocketing costs, with essential workers limited to units.

There are more options for workers away from the city in suburbs with hospitals and stations in places like Ipswich, Logan/Beaudesert and parts of Moreton Bay.

In regional Queensland, there are 92 suburbs beyond a $600,000 budget, with no suitable house suburbs on the Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast.

MORE NEWS: Less choice for Townsville homebuyers

First-home buyers rush to secure sub-$1m beachside property

One in seven homeowners worry about losing house

There are now no suburbs where you can buy a house for under $600,000. Gold Coast. Source: realestate.com.au

Mr Lardner said buying conditions were the worst they had been since the 1940s.

“For those on minimum salaries, this has been the perfect storm,” he said, adding that childcare workers would typically be earning up to 30 per cent less than emergency workers.

It is even harder for lower paid childcare workers. (Pic: iStock)

The new PropTrack Housing Affordability Index revealed that home prices across Australia were at their worst levels in at least three decades, describing it as “alarming”.

A study by the Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute (AHURI) found that many essential workers were struggling to access housing in Australia’s most expensive cities back in 2021, with the problem even worse in 2023.

“It is a huge challenge because for key workers if none of those suburbs are within a bull’s roar of where you need your nurse or teacher to be as it just doesn’t make it viable due to time and travel costs,” AHURI executive director Dr Michael Fotheringham said.

“Nurses are a good example, as many have to be on-call, but that’s not possible if they are living 1.5 hours away.

“And there is knock-on effect in the suburbs where prices have soared because if you can’t have people running a functional community, it loses its liveability.”

Mr Fotheringham said it was a major concern for the future workforces needed to service communities, especially with an ageing population.

Sure Noosa is beautiful, but essential workers can’t afford to live there. There are no suburbs on the Sunshine Coast under $600,000 for houses, but there are 19 suburbs where a unit is still possible. Tourism and Events Queensland

Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation federal secretary Annie Butler said the lack of access and supply of affordable housing had become an increasing concern for their 322,000 strong membership.

“In most of our capital cities, we know from our members’ feedback that the majority of frontline nurses and midwives cannot afford to rent a home or an apartment close to major hospitals,” Ms Butler said.

“Unfortunately, as the cost-of-living crisis has worsened, our members living and working in regional areas have also been impacted.

“We’re obviously concerned about the health and safety of essential health workers who are being forced to commute one to two hours to get to work every day and night, at a time when understaffing is already seeing them work longer shifts, often double shifts.”

Annie Butler of the Australia Nursing and Midwifery Federation. Picture: Rob Leeson.

A recent Anglicare Australia report revealed that essential workers would also struggle to pay rent, with analysis of 45,992 available listings showing that a firefighter would only be able to afford 1459 (3.2%) of those listed rental properties, a teacher could afford 1507 (3.3%), a nurse 666 (1.5%) and an early childhood educator just 428 (0.9%).

“In the past, essential workers seeking more affordable housing considered moving to regional

centres,” the report said. “This is no longer an option in much of Australia.”

United Workers Union national secretary Tim Kennedy said essential workers were under stress due to wages failing to keep up with costs.

“Essential workers in many areas including aged care, early childhood education, cleaners and security guards can often only dream of owning a house in areas where their essential services are needed,” he said.

“When workers are inevitably forced to find rental properties, workers also find themselves priced out of suburbs where they work.

“The net effect is stressed-out workers being forced to add lengthy commutes to their already difficult workplace roles – adding to burnout, high turnover and a heavy impact on the workers and the communities they work in.”

Ambulance ramping at PA Hospital, Woolloongabba. Picture: Liam Kidston

National home prices rose 0.28 per cent again in August, and are now 2.6 per cent higher than a year ago.

It was the eighth consecutive month of price growth in Queensland.

Originally published as Critical workers shut-out of Qld’s booming housing markets