The secret that many have been shouting over loudspeakers for years is out: the cost of owning a home is too high. And now, the cost of renting has also become so high that it's not a viable option for many. But the question remains: have experts realised we cannot afford a place to live for reasons beyond smashed avocado toasts?

First, let's paint a picture of late 2020 and early 2021 in Australia. There was a significant increase in our number of high net-worth individuals — a group defined as having a fortune exceeding $40.1 million — which rose by more than 300. Following suit, the top end of the real estate market saw significant action, with the affluent buying luxurious homes to spend their lockdown days.

Domain data has revealed some of the exorbitant prices at which such auctions have closed. The first quarter of 2021 saw 1,429 luxury properties sell for nearly $7 billion, equating to an average price of $4.8 million each. The Gold Coast — a popular tropical holiday destination — had the most market activity, experiencing a 91% increase in sales compared to the previous year.

This is the ridiculous property market climate during which I decided to move to the southern half of Sydney. I found a lovely, modern two-bedroom apartment for $500 per week a block from the nearest train station. At the time, it wasn't a fantastic deal, and some places a few blocks further were cheaper. But it best ticked all the boxes for what I needed out of everything available.

As time passed, I couldn't help but notice the rising rental prices in the area — it's astonishing how much they have increased in just two years. Now, if someone were to try to rent a two-bedroom apartment around where I am, they would have to pay between $670 and $790 per week. This dramatic increase in rental prices has made it increasingly difficult for people to find affordable places to live, and it doesn't just affect my area.

New insights into the rental market show how rents have increased for almost three-quarters of properties. Sydney recently became the most expensive city for renting in Australia, with houses jumping 6.1% and units a whopping 8.1%. To top it off, Sydney ranks among the most expensive luxury markets in the world, with $US1 million buying less than 50 square metres.

Did everyone's salaries jump by 30% over the past two years? No, they did not. While raising wages should not result in everything becoming more expensive, the logic behind assuming that it would does not even justify these rental price increases.

The cost of renting a place to live in this country was already unaffordably high before the current rental crisis. It's absurd when you think about it: placing a price on someone's ability to have shelter. While this is considered normal here, it doesn't make it right.

To make matters even more infuriating, some strata groups are encouraging landlords to work together to prevent renters from shopping around for better deals and instead pay the highest possible amount. This practice is not only unfair to renters, but it also shows a lack of empathy and understanding from these groups.

Even by capitalist standards, it is important to have competition in any market, including the rental market. This allows people to find affordable places to live and prevents landlords from taking advantage of their tenants. By standards that oppose the exploitation of people, the mere existence of a housing market is horribly immoral.

The government needs to step in and regulate the rental market to ensure that renters are treated fairly. This could include implementing rent control measures or legislation to ensure landlords offer affordable housing options. There's currently a survey available for those in NSW to fill out and, hopefully, have our voices heard: Improving NSW rental laws

It's time to prioritise affordable housing as a basic human right. (Have a look at our latest conservative homelessness estimations: Estimating Homelessness: Census)

The Sirius building in Sydney, shown in this and the featured photo, was constructed in the late 1970s for the Housing Commission as social housing for families and older individuals. Some of its features include secure lift access to all levels and built-in distress alarms and public spaces such as courtyards, rooftop gardens, and communal rooms to foster socialisation. The combination of private and public areas and a mix of different age groups helped create a solid and thriving public housing community within Sirius.

[Sirius] demonstrates Brutalism's objective of ethical design based on social concerns as well as its focus on the truthful expression of materials, function and structure. - http://saveoursirius.org/

But now, the property is currently being converted into 76 boutique residences. Over time, the harbourside has become a luxurious area. It is not uncommon for areas once only accessible to people with low incomes to be recaptured and turned into luxury havens for the well-off. This is the essence of gentrification happening all over Sydney proper in recent decades.

Although purchasing a property at all is considered a luxury by some due to its prohibitive cost, renting in a market where landlords profit from renting means that to continue renting later in life, one must work for many more years, have a good flow of investments, or both. However, someone who can't afford to save for a property deposit won't be able to invest enough, either. Therefore, even if we disregard the issues of fictitious capital, the proposed solutions are not viable.

Unfortunately, many things in life are like this. It's a harsh reality that the most basic needs of a person, such as food, water, and shelter, are not easily accessible to everyone. These basic needs are not only essential for human survival but are also considered basic human rights. Unfortunately, despite recognising these rights, they are still out of reach for many individuals and communities not just around the world but also in our so-called first-world countries. The lack of access to these basic needs leads us into the current downward spiral of poverty and social inequality.

Meanwhile, Healthcare costs are also on the rise. Seeing a general practitioner (GP) has gone from being free to costing $20-30 after the Medicare rebate. (My last receipt showed a charge of $99 before the rebate.) This increase is not due to doctors struggling to make ends meet but rather due to their slightly diminished desire to live more luxuriously in return for helping others. The consequence of this trend is that soon, people may not be able to afford to get sick even more than they already couldn't before.

To make matters worse, the government encourages everyone to obtain private health insurance. They do so by increasing the premium for private health insurance every year after 30 years old for those who do not have it. However, this is presented oppositely as a cost reduction that decreases yearly.

Here's something that's often overlooked when discussing the cost of living and salaries: there are certain expenses that everyone must pay. This means that the more you earn, the less burden living expenses will be. While it may sound obvious, the numbers are often staggering when you break them down.

Let's look at an example of expenses versus income loosely based on my spending requirements. At $500 per week, I pay $26,000 per year just for shelter. If I add bills — everything from electricity to a mobile plan — that's another $5,000, and groceries are another $10,000. Therefore, my total essential living expenses per year would be $41,000 per year.

Now, imagine that I received a raise, and my income after tax went from $50,000 to $100,000 (from about $60,000 to $140,000 before tax, respectively). It's double the amount after tax, yes. But after expenses, the remaining amounts are $8,000 and $59,000, respectively. That is an increase in disposable income by over 7 times.

While the concept of our tax brackets is partly to ensure fairness for lower-income earners (see individual income tax rates if you're curious as to the actual numbers), it doesn't make enough of a difference. After considering essential expenses, it's clear that more really is more.

The rising cost of living has become a significant issue for many young people, who often cannot afford basic necessities like food, shelter, and healthcare. With rent prices increasing at an alarming rate, it's becoming increasingly difficult for people to find affordable places to live. The rising cost of rent and other basic necessities is creating a significant burden for many people, and it's up to us to work together to find solutions that can help alleviate this burden.

Although the trend of blaming the younger generations for spending money on healthy food and insisting on being connected to the world (try getting a job without a mobile phone or internet access) has subsided somewhat, there is still a lot of finger-pointing at their spending habits while ignoring the state of the market.

Stagnant wages have been a primary concern for decades and affect all generations, making it increasingly difficult for people to make ends meet. This issue has been prevalent in countries such as the US since the 70s (Wage Stagnation in Nine Charts). In recent years, countries such as Australia have experienced stagnation and a wage fall.

“[S]tart addressing the economic reality: profits are driving the cost-of-living and housing crises… To blame workers for current inflation while they experience unprecedented real wage drops and companies post surging profits is economic gaslighting of the highest order.

“This data shows fears of a ‘wage-price spiral’ similar to the 1970s are a speculative fantasy… The RBAs obsession with increasing interest rates now risks pushing Australia into a recession.” — Real Wages Fell 4.5% in 2022

As a result of these stagnating and falling wages, many people have had to cut back on their expenses and limit their spending on essentials such as food, housing, and healthcare. This has decreased the overall standard of living as people struggle to meet their basic needs.

Stagnant wages have harmed the economy, as people have less disposable income to invest and spend on goods and services. This, in turn, can lead to decreased economic growth and development. The whole concept of capitalism relies on the continued trading of value so that surplus value can become profit for the capitalists.

But when wealth inequality keeps growing, and people keep losing their ability to afford things for sale in the market, the entire system begins to collapse. This phenomenon is known as the tendency of the rate of profit to fall. Not only Karl Marx (Capital: A Critique of Political Economy) but economists such as Adam Smith (The Wealth of Nations), David Ricardo (Principles of Political Economy and Taxation), John Stuart Mill (Principles of Political Economy), and Stanley Jevons (The Theory of Political Economy) all explicitly talked about this phenomenon.

The result is that the system routinely experiences crises. Financial crises are a normal part of the capitalist system regulating itself, as finding new ways to extract profit is a fundamental aspect of the game. Unfortunately, the lessons learned from the stock market crash of 1929 and the Great Depression of the 1930s were transformed into theories, institutions, and regulations that set us up for yet another catastrophic failure. This took the form of the 2008 global financial crisis, largely due to the dominance of neoliberal ideology that created massive fictitious wealth.

So, what is to be done?

First is the fight against rampant individualism, meaning everyone only looks out for themselves. Complacency is not a solution, no matter how comfortable or uncomfortable your life may be. It is not productive to wonder why other people can't pull themselves up by their bootstraps or blame the life choices of people we don't even know. Encourage your friends to do the same because we should be working together and not selfishly dismissing the rest of the world.

After all, there's only so much money in circulation at any given time. While nations can inject more into the economy as they wish, they won't do it for us. So someone is held back for every person who does improve their situation. That doesn't mean we should pointlessly flagellate ourselves on their behalf, but it is a good reason for sticking up for each other.

Daunting? I know. This is not a problem that can be easily solved. As a result, it may seem pointless to take any action. However, you can start by simply filling out the Improving NSW rental laws survey (available until 11 August 2023), staying informed whenever possible, and never settling for "it is what it is," always demanding more and more. The rest we'll figure out as we go.