Two single mothers from Australia have revealed their anguish at being unable to access a booming property market.
Mother-of-three Kaitlyn Bailey and mother-of-two Anna have been hard-pressed to find a rental or buy a home, even though neither of them live in Sydney.
And they are not alone in the fight, as an increasing number of Australians are struggling to secure a roof over their families’ heads as the national housing crisis worsens.
Kaitlyn Bailey submitted 157 rental applications in Hunter Valley, New South Wales, and was rejected every time.
“I’m not a bad tenant, I keep the house clean, I always pay the bills and I’ve never had any problems,” she told 60 Minutes.
She continued to submit applications after each one rejected out of “sheer determination” to ensure she and her children stayed off the streets.
“I don’t want to be homeless with all my kids,” Bailey said.
Ms Bailey revealed that the only way she was able to secure a roof over their heads was thanks to an extraordinary sacrifice made by her mother, Karen.
Single mother of three Kaitlyn (left) revealed she was rejected 157 times for a rental and only found a home after her mother Karen (right) dipped into her retirement fund.
Karen used her retirement fund early and took out another loan to buy her daughter a portable home in the back of her own property.
Although the family enjoys being close to each other, both mother and daughter agreed that the situation is not ideal.
They also believe that intergenerational coexistence will become much more common.
“Families are coming together again out of necessity,” Karen told the program.
Ms Bailey added: “In the end, everyone has to survive, and it’s very, very difficult these days.”
The programme also featured the deputy principal of Anna School in the Blue Mountains west of Sydney.
She earns a decent salary and has managed to save up almost enough to achieve her “dream” of owning her own home.
However, her 15 percent deposit has not yet been approved because “she is a single mother and I have two dependent children.”
“It doesn’t feel good when you work so hard,” he said.
“I’m working very hard to achieve this goal… There’s nothing else I can do.”
Mother-of-two Anna is also being hit hard by a brutal property market. She is unable to get a mortgage with a 15 per cent deposit because she is a single parent.
Ms Bailey and Anna are just two of many Australians struggling to find somewhere to live as population growth causes demand for housing to soar.
A year ago, the federal government promised to deliver 1.2 million new homes over five years to relieve some of the pressure on demand and lower prices.
However, the promise has become an uphill battle with the construction industry feeling the brunt of the cost of living crisis with dozens of companies going bankrupt.
New federal housing minister Claire O’Neil has admitted that achieving that goal will not be easy.
“A lot of what the government is doing is going to provide a good revenue stream for Australian construction companies because we’re trying to build more homes,” he told the programme.
An increasing number of Australians are struggling to secure a roof over their families as the national housing crisis worsens.
“I see builders taking up the challenge and starting to think of new ways they might be able to help us.”
Ms O’Neil acknowledged concerns that younger Australians would have to borrow an average of $92,000 from the “bank of mum and dad” to secure a home loan.
“It’s a really massive problem and I think it’s a symptom of a broader collapse in our housing market in Australia if you have young people having to borrow that kind of sum from their parents,” he said.
