
Finding affordable home options for invisible women
This report explores ownership models for modest-income earning ‘middle-aged’ women in Australia. Findings suggest that shared equity, build-to-rent and rent-to-own, and staircasing models provide possible affordable home options to this growing group if financial barriers are eliminated through a subsidy or philanthropic funding.
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OVERVIEW
Single, ‘middle aged’ women in Australia face significant barriers to housing security. This report explores alternate housing models, including shared equity, build-to-rent, build-to-rent-to-own, and staircasing, that could provide possible affordable home options to this growing group. However, these solutions require financial support, including subsidies and philanthropic funding, to eliminate financial barriers for individuals, allowing their entry into these models.
Barriers to housing security in Australia
“Older women have experienced lifetimes of lower wages, longer periods without paid employment, less superannuation, and lower rates of homeownership than their male counterparts” (Dr K. Raynor, 2021). Women need to actively pursue housing pathways by 45 to ensure they have the ability to access secure tenure, connection to the community, the right balance between privacy and shared space, fit-for-purpose design, and affordability. This requires more support to undergo and act on financial health-checks, as well as recognising the women’s financial needs and meeting them through targeted solutions.
Alternative housing models
Shared equity, build-to-rent, build-to-rent-to-own, and staircasing models show potential as affordable, fit-for-purpose housing solutions for modest-income earning ‘middle-aged’ women. Australian stakeholders in mainstream finance, superannuation funding, property development, and housing bodies need to address the tension between the customers’ needs, experiences and the market’s expectations to ensure these models work for the target cohort. These groups should develop financial models conscious of the tensions between the various parties involved in any property development.
Recommendations
To ensure the success of alternative housing models highlighted in this report, philanthropy needs expanding investment tools to fit-for-purpose options such as revolving (i.e. repayable) funds as part of shared equity solutions, patient capital that allows cohorts to achieve homeownership, and discounted return loans that support affordability. Additionally, ecosystem participants, including philanthropy, need to fill the gaps in each financing model by deciding and developing the best ways to support the small-scale bespoke solutions required by this cohort.