On struggle street - mortgage and rent stress leaving families homeless
Number of people having homes seized by banks has soared Households forced "into choices you should not have to make" Many renters also feeling the pain
Carly Nancarrow and her children Jorja, Drue, and Piper. The family is worried about finding a new home.
EVERY month a whole street of New South Wales families lose their homes - with thousands more facing a meagre Christmas as they scrape to keep a roof over their heads. New data reveals 80 houses are seized a month, while up to a third of people in the worst-hit suburbs are struggling to pay rent.
Private rental stress has spread across NSW, where up to 50 per cent of families suffering housing stress cannot afford essential items.
Latest figures reveal the number of people having their homes seized by banks has soared 22.5 per cent this year.
In the 10 months to November, the Supreme Court issued 2466 writs of possession, with 825 executed.
Experts believe that is only the tip of the iceberg with many rushing the sale of their homes before they are seized.
New modelling commissioned by Australians for Affordable Housing reveals the worst hit areas in NSW for housing stress are Sydney, Wyong, the mid north coast, the Hunter and far north coast with one in five families paying most of their income on rent or mortgage.
Across Sydney, those in Auburn, Fairfield, Canterbury, Strathfield, Bankstown and Liverpool are the hardest hit, with up to 28 per cent in those areas suffering housing stress.
"From our experience people pay their housing costs first and then they work out how to meet their other costs with what is left over," AAH spokeswoman Sarah Toohey said.
"You lose the things we take for granted. We call it housing stress but it's not just about being in a dangerous housing situation, it's the pressure that goes on every other area of your life."
Ms Toohey said annual rent rises were gouging families even more, with single-parent families facing heartbreaking decisions this Christmas. She added: "It's forcing households into the choices you should not have to make."
Carly Nancarrow's children are more worried about having a home than unwrapping Christmas presents.
The Illawarra mother of three and her children have to move out of their rental home by early January after authorities deemed it unsafe for them to live in.
"The older children are not concerned about Christmas presents this year. They know the reality is if we don't find a house, we are on the street," she said. "We have until January 16 to find a home."
