Perceived risks to housing unaffordability in resource-led regional communities: Lessons for Australian regional cities

Periodic housing unaffordability in Australian resource-led regional cities has been continuing over the last two decades, creating pressures on the economic and social life of individuals to communities. This paper examines the perceived household risks to housing unaffordability in resource-led regional communities through a case study of Rockhampton and Gladstone cities in Queensland, Australia. Two hundred households were surveyed from these two cities and a probability based consensus and agreement method was then used to analyse the risks that the community perceived to exist due to housing unaffordability. The study found that economic and social risks and stresses such as extra pressures on household budgets, long commuting time, and difficulty with children’s schooling, moving away from friends and relatives and poor health were the most common perceived risks in these two communities. The result of chisquare tests confirmed that perceived risks of housing unaffordability vary over different socio-demographic backgrounds and also that the level of risks vary over types of perceived risks. Although this study is partially skewed towards female and senior participants, these findings provide lessons for similar Australian resource-led regional cities. Policy makers can use the results to address the risks associated with housing unaffordability in these cities.