Young families increasingly leaving city due to costs
Young families are leaving Sydney in droves because of the high cost of housing. Now the New South Wales Productivity Commissioner is warning that without action the biggest city in the country could become "a city with no grandchildren".
Transcript
00:00 A report by the New South Wales Productivity Commission has found that the harbour city
00:05 is losing twice as many people aged 30 to 40 as it gains. That's because housing has
00:11 become too expensive for many families.
00:14 If this continues, then Sydney may well become known as the city with no grandchildren.
00:20 Adrian Tucci left his Sydney roots last month and moved his family from Leichhardt in the
00:25 city's inner west to Cairns in far north Queensland.
00:28 We can't afford a multi-million dollar mortgage, raising two kids with my wife wanting to be
00:36 a stay at home mum.
00:38 The painter said he and his wife Nicole bought a block of three units by the beach in the
00:42 tropical city for less than $1 million.
00:44 It was a difficult decision to leave family and friends. However, the financial stress
00:50 that we would have been under had we stayed and bought a property would have ultimately
00:54 led to a far harder and sad life.
00:59 Joe and Andy Rowe started their family while living in a two bedroom apartment they owned
01:03 on Sydney's lower north shore.
01:05 We were like our kids to have their own bedrooms, have their own space.
01:08 After having their second child, the couple decided it was time to upsize. After failing
01:13 to find a larger property within their price range, the family relocated to Canberra in
01:18 2021.
01:19 A small two bedroom apartment where we were in Sydney was the price equivalent to a four
01:26 bedroom house in the suburbs in Canberra.
01:29 The productivity commissioner says the exodus of people aged 30 to 40 is a problem for Sydney
01:34 siters because that age group is among the most productive in the workforce.
01:38 If these productive workers leave Sydney, then it means the rest of us who stay here
01:43 are going to have to work a little bit harder to produce the same level of goods and services.
01:47 The productivity commissioner says to make housing cheaper and more abundant in Sydney,
01:52 density needs to increase in areas closer to the city.
01:55 To achieve that, the state government plans to rezone land near dozens of train stations
02:00 to allow apartment blocks in areas currently dominated by stand-alone houses.
02:05 But there's pushback from some councils who fear the character of those suburbs will be
02:09 ruined.
02:10 The productivity commissioner says heritage protections should be reviewed in areas where
02:14 restrictions on redevelopment are widespread.
02:17 [BLANK_AUDIO]