Housing figures show wait times for crucial homes has tripled in Margaret River during pandemic

People desperate for public housing in Margaret River are facing a years-long wait with the queue tripling in length during the pandemic. New figures obtained by the Times showed the popularity of Margaret River meant no priority list was maintained for the shire, with the truly desperate offered a shorter wait-list for State-owned homes in Busselton. The new figures underscored the housing crisis gripping the region amid calls from local advocacy group Just Home Margaret River for a significantly greater State Government investment in local public housing options. Department of Communities figures showed the total Margaret River wait time for accommodation, measured in weeks, was 72 in July 2020, jumping to 163 in July last year, and 223 weeks in July 2022. By comparison, in Busselton the waitlist was 130 weeks in July 2020 which had reduced to 106 weeks this year. However, Busselton maintained a high priority list for people in dire straits, while no such list existed for Margaret River. “Margaret River is a highly sought-after location and consequently has a very low turnover rate for social housing,” a Communities spokesperson told the Times. “For this reason, there is no priority list for Margaret River and priority applicants are listed for the Busselton preference zone.” Communities said the availability of affordable rentals was much lower in Margaret River and “constraints” affected land availability for development. “While Busselton is also a popular seaside location, it has substantially more affordable private rental opportunities and land development potential,” the spokesperson said. While the State Government was taking action on public housing shortfalls, just five new public homes were slated for Margaret River. Busselton would receive another five homes through the State Government’s Housing and Homelessness Investment Package. Just Home program manager Alex Hughes said the fabric of Margaret River’s character was under threat when long-term residents were forced to move elsewhere. “While the building of five new homes for people on the housing waitlist is welcomed, five houses is nowhere near sufficient to meet local housing needs,” he said. “The housing waitlist for the South West currently stands at 1354 applications with only 56 homes either having been built or currently being built. That is a 0.04 per cent ‘people to home’ conversion rate.” Busselton also saw a blowout in wait times for priority housing during the past two years. In July 2020, the average wait time was 19 weeks, while July 2022 figures estimated it 58 weeks’ wait for priority housing.