A new report has discovered that almost 100,000 homes were empty or practically unused in Melbourne during 2023. Estimates say the number of vacant homes highlighted by the report could house double the number of people on the Victorian public housing waitlist.
The study by Prosper Australia found the shocking extent of how many homes were unutilised across Melbourne last year by examining the water usage of dwellings in the city.
The ‘Speculative Vacancy‘ report dictated that properties that used no water the entire year were empty, and homes that used between zero and 50 litres of water a day were under-used.
Across Melbourne’s metropolitan area, Prosper Australia found that 27,408 dwellings were completely empty for all of 2023. Meanwhile, a total of 70,453 houses in the area were underused over the same period.
This puts the total number of houses not being used effectively in Victoria’s capital city at 97,861, or 5.2 per cent of all the homes in Melbourne (1.88 million).
That’s one in every 20 homes that could be used more effectively to house a person — so why is this happening?
Why are so many Melbourne homes vacant?
Well, according to the Speculative Vacancy report, the exact cause/s for this problem aren’t completely understood. But there are a few possible explanations, including:
- Renters cannot afford to live there, so wealthy owners keep them empty.
- Empty homes being used in tax-avoidance schemes.
- Landlords and property investors land-banking.
- Drawn-out real estate settlements.
- Lower taxes on capital gains than rental income.
However, the report states that regardless of not knowing the precise cause of the problem, its solutions are readily available: tax reform.
“Governments are increasingly turning to taxation of vacant homes to address unaffordable housing,” it stated.
“Some, including Victoria, are even taxing vacant land to spur faster development. Properly enforced, these taxes can nudge land and housing into use.”
However, it also warned that increasing taxes on land-banking properties could result in parties finding new tax-avoidance loopholes which could make the problem worse.
One thing is for certain though — almost 100,000 homes being unused or under-used is an appalling waste.
“These vacant dwellings represent a huge pool of valuable resources not being used productively. At the average household size they could accommodate over 250,000 people,” said the report.
It also highlighted that if these properties were put on the rental market then rents would decrease due to increasing the supply by 20 per cent.
Good thing Purple Pingers (Jordan van den Lamb) taught everyone how to “legally” squat in empty homes, because it looks like there are plenty of places ripe for the picking.
[Image: Getty]
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