How do housing costs affect your day-to-day life?

A new online survey by the Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre is looking for participants to provide insights into a widespread modern day dilemma – how housing affordability, or lack thereof, actually impacts on households.

Dr Steven Rowley, Head of Curtin University’s Department of Property Studies within the Curtin Business School explained the survey is designed to identify how housing-related costs affect the day-to-day lives of West Australians.

“Mortgage payments, weekly rent, utility bills and commuting costs all result from a resident’s housing choice, but what this study seeks to investigate is what householders have to give up in order to meet these payments,” Dr Rowley said.

“What trade-offs did a household have to make when selecting their current home? Did they have to forego or reduce other traditional items of expenditure such as food, social activities, holidays and insurance in order to meet housing-related costs? Did a household have to move a long distance away from their first choice location to access affordable housing?

“This study will also look at individuals who are unable to move into their own home, such as people living with their parents and those in share houses, examining to what extent housing affordability is actually preventing household formation in Western Australia.”

The online survey is open to all WA residents who either own their own home, want to own a home, rent from any type of landlord or live with parents, friends or in a group/shared house.

The survey is open until the end of November and can be found online at: Survey Now Closed

All responses will be confidential and used only as part of aggregated analysis. Ethics approval number E&F-07-13.