Single mother Cassandra is desperate to stay in the three-bedroom home she rents with her two school-aged children.

The 36-year-old became homeless after fleeing domestic violence and spent five years moving from refuges to emergency accommodation and transitional housing.

She has now lived in the same place for more than three years in Melbourne’s outer east, a rental that “means everything” to her.

But working one day a week, Cassandra is doing it tough.

“The rent only increases once a year, but my income’s not increasing,” she told AAP.
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The number of rental properties available in outer Sydney has jumped to levels not seen in 18 months while vacancy rates in inner suburbs dropped or remain unchanged.

Renters in the NSW Hunter region and Central Coast also saw a boost but availability fell in the Illawarra.

Available rentals located 25km or more from Sydney’s CBD increased by 0.3 percentage points to 1.7 per cent in January, the Real Institute of NSW (REINSW) said in a statement.
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The Australian dream of owning a home is more affordable now than it has been for five years following lower interest rates and greater government subsidies, a report says.

The Housing Industry Association (HIA) and Commonwealth Bank First Home Buyer Affordability index improved by 39.2 per cent to 153.6 points in the December quarter, from 110.3 index points for the September quarter.

First home buyers last had housing this affordable in the March quarter of 2003, the index showed.
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