A FRAGILE HOUSE OF CARDS
An honest assessment of the housing market
PROPERTY SPECULATORS
• Intentionally leave some properties vacant and underutilised
• Sit on empty properties for years at a time to realise profit through land banking
• Often prefer Airbnb short term rentals to long term renters
HOMELESS PEOPLE
• Wander the streets during the day to avoid being “moved on” by police
• Sleep rough at railway stations and bus stops after dark
• Often cannot receive government assistance if they have no fixed address
UNDER 21s
• Are stuck with youth wages until the age of 21 but must pay full price for everything
• Receive zero discount on taxation, insurance, groceries, and rent
• Cannot move out of the parental home as low cost options are non-existent
Above: abandoned properties in suburban Sydney | Photo: Keith Salter
PARENTS
• Want the best for their kids
• But cannot buy their adult kids a home because the cost is prohibitive
• Wonder if their adult kids will ever have the opportunity to move out
GOVERNMENT
• Unable to manage local housing stock proficiently
• Has no professional answers to the ongoing housing crisis
• Lacks the motivation to assert control over key industry sectors
HOME BUYERS
• Must save for a deposit to secure a mortgage loan within an inflationary economy
• Largely fail to reduce the principal loan amount due to high interest rates
• Must live somewhere prior to purchasing their own home
CITIZENS AND RESIDENTS
• Rightly expect the government to arrange suitable accommodation for all members of society
• Correctly understand that the social cost of not housing the local population
• Is the formation of wandering mobs of homeless people on the streets
Above: Outside QVB, York St, Sydney. | Which side of the glass will you sleep on?
MONEY LENDERS
• Profit from the interest charged on loans
• Produce nothing of value
• Demand payment even if a property becomes uninhabitable
STATE HOUSING PLANNERS
• Only talk about building new homes. Who can afford a mortgage right now?
• Have no means to decrease the cost of rent or to cap its increase
• Lack the power to nationalise abandoned properties
GRAND SOCIAL CHANGE
• Enough properties exist to accommodate everyone
• A national strategy is needed from the top down (policy and programme)
• A local strategy is needed from the bottom up (just move yourself in and squat)
Punk Human 
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