House and land size, affordability and immigration have all contributed to the rapid expansion of Wyndham in the last decade. Families are drawn to the value for money housing, and moderate to large size homes with 3 or 4 bedrooms. However, despite having less expensive real estate compared to Greater Melbourne, many residents struggle with the cost of living. Furthermore, limited housing diversity, particularly smaller homes or apartments, can create stress for small or single income families who find it difficult to acquire dwellings that are an appropriate size and affordable price. For many, this struggle can end in significant financial burden or poverty, while for a growing number it can lead to homelessness

Housing Diversity

Growth areas like Wyndham typically have larger household sizes than older suburbs and inner suburbs. Many of the new estates in Wyndham have been designed for the needs of a moderately sized family. As seen in the figure below, over 75% of dwellings have 3 or 4 bedrooms (40% and 37% respectively). This is likely in part due to two developments. The first of these is a surge in covenants during the 1980s that regulated minimum floor space size and limited the building of dual occupancies. The second is the low median house price relative to large parts of Greater Melbourne in the past decade which has attracted young families to areas such as Point Cook and Truganina.

Private dwellings are the most common housing type in Wyndham. In contrast, social housing makes up only 1% of housing. This is considerably less than the proportion across Victoria (2.8%). Rooming houses generally provide communal housing for single people who (often through disadvantage) may find it difficult to access private rental housing. There were 35 rooming houses in the Wyndham-Melton area in 2011, an increase from the 1 house that existed in 2006. In 2011 there were no crisis accommodation options for individuals seeking emergency housing in Wyndham.

Affordability

Many residents in Wyndham are experiencing significant housing stress and hardship. Evidence of this is seen in the number of housing evictions recorded each year. According to VCAT, in 2013/14 the police were issuing 29 eviction notices in Wyndham each month. Furthermore, the chart below indicates that as a Local Government Area (LGA), Wyndham had more warrants of possession (which is a warrant issued as part of an eviction process) in 2013/14 compared to all other LGAs across the state. As a percentage of all dwellings the number of warrants issued in Wyndham (0.52%) is among the highest in the state, behind Golden Plains and Melton Shires (0.77% and 0.62% respectively).

Home owners are also under financial stress in Wyndham. As presented in the map below, failure to make the required mortgage repayments, known as mortgage delinquency, is prevalent across Melbourne’s growth areas including areas of Wyndham. According to research by Fitch Ratings, some regions of Wyndham were in the top 10 in the state for mortgage delinquency in 2014. Limited availability of basic services such as health services, education, justice, affordable transport, healthy food and employment, is also evident in areas with inexpensive housing.

Homelessness

According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) a person is homeless if they do not have suitable accommodation alternatives and their current living arrangement:

  • is in a dwelling that is inadequate, or
  • has no tenure, or if their initial tenure is short and not extendable, or
  • does not allow them to have control of, and access to space for social relations (refers to overcrowding).

Factors associated with homelessness include low income/unemployment, housing affordability and access to public transport, domestic violence/relationship breakdown, mental illness, and drug and alcohol abuse.

At the 2011 Census, there were 420 people homeless in Wyndham. This is almost 4 times more people than at the 2001 Census (107). However, due to accommodation type, this figure is expected to be considerably larger. For example, homelessness may not be recorded if individuals and families turn to living in caravan parks, cars, are squatting, couch surfing or camping. The lack of crisis accommodation in Wyndham means that around 95% of government assisted individuals that require immediate housing are placed outside of Wyndham, typically away from family and friend support networks. Those housed in the municipality are often directed to local motels. In 2011, the majority of people experiencing homelessness were from the established parts of Wyndham – Werribee and Hoppers Crossing. People experiencing homelessness in the growth areas of Wyndham together comprised around a third of the people counted on Census night. Research shows that rates of homelessness are higher in areas with affordable housing, thus highlighting what’s affordable for some is not for others.

Wyndham City