Sydney's Luxury Housing Trend Sparks Concern Over Affordable Options
The affluent Sydney neighborhoods of Bondi, Potts Point, and Paddington are experiencing a luxury housing boom, where older blocks of flats are being demolished to make way for multi-million-dollar luxury whole-floor units. This trend has sparked concerns among community members that the definition of affordable housing is no longer relevant in these areas.
Federal independent MP Allegra Spender warns that this shift in development policies could lead to a loss of social license, as people become increasingly cynical about development projects. The Wentworth electorate takes in these affluent neighborhoods and Spender has written to the New South Wales housing minister, Rose Jackson, calling for urgent action.
Spender notes that genuinely affordable units are being bulldozed and replaced with luxury blocks that include a small component of "affordable" units. However, these units can fetch rents of $1,000 a week for a two-bedroom unit, which is unsustainable for many working-class families. Spender argues that the definition of affordable housing needs to be revised to reflect the reality on the ground in Sydney's eastern suburbs.
The NSW government has recently introduced policies aimed at increasing affordable housing options, including extending the time period that units had to remain affordable from 15 to 30 years and pegging rents to a person's ability to pay. However, critics argue that these measures are insufficient and that more needs to be done to address the root causes of the affordability crisis.
The City of Sydney has adopted a policy that does not allow developments that lead to a significant loss of dwellings. Woollahra council recently voted unanimously to oppose the demolition of a block of 27 genuinely affordable studio apartments at Oxford Street in Paddington, which developers want to replace with a nine-storey luxury tower containing 40 units.
Spender urges homeowners and community members to organize and demand change from their local councils and government officials. She believes that urgent action is needed to address the growing discontent among residents about the lack of affordable housing options in these affluent neighborhoods.
The NSW Housing Delivery Authority has recently approved a development in an affluent area, which will see 15% fewer dwellings than originally proposed. Spender calls for this trend to be reversed and for policymakers to prioritize genuinely affordable housing over luxury developments that cater to high-end buyers.
The affluent Sydney neighborhoods of Bondi, Potts Point, and Paddington are experiencing a luxury housing boom, where older blocks of flats are being demolished to make way for multi-million-dollar luxury whole-floor units. This trend has sparked concerns among community members that the definition of affordable housing is no longer relevant in these areas.
Federal independent MP Allegra Spender warns that this shift in development policies could lead to a loss of social license, as people become increasingly cynical about development projects. The Wentworth electorate takes in these affluent neighborhoods and Spender has written to the New South Wales housing minister, Rose Jackson, calling for urgent action.
Spender notes that genuinely affordable units are being bulldozed and replaced with luxury blocks that include a small component of "affordable" units. However, these units can fetch rents of $1,000 a week for a two-bedroom unit, which is unsustainable for many working-class families. Spender argues that the definition of affordable housing needs to be revised to reflect the reality on the ground in Sydney's eastern suburbs.
The NSW government has recently introduced policies aimed at increasing affordable housing options, including extending the time period that units had to remain affordable from 15 to 30 years and pegging rents to a person's ability to pay. However, critics argue that these measures are insufficient and that more needs to be done to address the root causes of the affordability crisis.
The City of Sydney has adopted a policy that does not allow developments that lead to a significant loss of dwellings. Woollahra council recently voted unanimously to oppose the demolition of a block of 27 genuinely affordable studio apartments at Oxford Street in Paddington, which developers want to replace with a nine-storey luxury tower containing 40 units.
Spender urges homeowners and community members to organize and demand change from their local councils and government officials. She believes that urgent action is needed to address the growing discontent among residents about the lack of affordable housing options in these affluent neighborhoods.
The NSW Housing Delivery Authority has recently approved a development in an affluent area, which will see 15% fewer dwellings than originally proposed. Spender calls for this trend to be reversed and for policymakers to prioritize genuinely affordable housing over luxury developments that cater to high-end buyers.
. So we're saying that these luxury units are "affordable" just because they have a small component of cheap units? Like, $1k a week for a 2-bedroom is still super unaffordable for most families. What's the logic behind this? Can someone point me to some stats or research on how this definition of affordable housing came about?
and honestly who cares bout the lux vibes when theres no place for the rest of us to live 
i need some real affordable options not just a token 10% of units that r still way too pricey for most ppl
. It's like they're taking away our right to have a home and just letting the wealthy get richer. What's wrong with having some affordable options for regular people?! We need more than just a fancy policy change, we need action from our leaders 
. Can't they see that these luxury developments are driving up prices even more? It's like they're playing a game of economic roulette 
. Someone needs to speak out and demand real change, not just empty promises 
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anyway, I think it's super problematic that they're just replacing old "affordable" units with fancy new ones that are still way out of reach for most families. Like, I get that development costs money and all, but is it really necessary to kick out people who've been living there for years? 
anyway, i think allegra spender is totally right on the money 
we need to rethink what affordable housing means and make sure that everyone has access to a decent place to live 
i feel so bad for those families who are being priced out of their own neighborhoods 
, espically in areas like Bondi and Paddington where it's getting harder for regular people to afford a place to live. The idea of "affordable" units being bulldozed to make way for luxury apartments is just ridiculous 
. It's like the definition of affordable has just become a marketing term, not an actual standard.
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. But we need more than just empty promises and incremental changes – we need real, meaningful solutions that put people over profits 
and what's really sad is that people are actually losing their homes to these developers because they can't afford the rent on the units that are supposed to be affordable. 
The definition of "affordable" is basically a joke now - $1000 a week for a two-bedroom unit? Are you kidding me? 
the thing is, we need more than just a few tweaks 2 the policies - we need urgent action from gov officials 2 prioritize people over profits 
anyway, allegra spender is speaking truth to power and i love her for it 
and I'm so done with the prices!!! Like, my cousin's sister just moved into this brand new luxury apartment in Potts Point for like $2.5k a week 
And don't even get me started on the council meetings – they're always talkin' about gentrification and how it's 'good for the community', but honestly, it's just makin' life harder for us regular folks 
. I mean, I get it, rich people wanna live in nice places, but what about the rest of us?! 
. We need to see some serious action here, not just token gestures. The community needs to rally around these issues and demand change from their councils and gov officials