Qualitative research report

Stagnant wages and current 2022 housing crisis

1. How is the increasing cost of living in Australia affecting young adults' anxiety surrounding housing affordability?

- Will talk about: - Interest rate - Cost of living - Wages - Breakdown of states & suburbs/cities - COVID (sick leave, isolation etc.) - Centrelink payments - Difficulty in understanding the process as a first-time renter/buyer - Additional costs after purchasing home (inspection, stamp duty, real estate commission) - Insurance

STEP 2 · Recruiting participants (incentives?) - Ensure informed consent and warning on topics - List of hotlines in case anything challenging comes up

STEP 2 – Interview · Conducted face-to-face or on zoom · Warning given before sensitive or personal questions are asked · Reassurance on confidentiality at beginning of interview · Questions will be ethical, asking about the cost of living and this affects their ability to purchase a home. 2 / 10 - All questions do not have to be answered, especially when asking about wages as this may be a sensitive topic for some people.

· Conducting interviews Mail out survey, online survey, phone interview (5 max)?? · Recording/reporting answers To keep names private, information's should be stored securely, making it clear to the participants how and what the data will be used for, once research is finished the data should be destroyed.

· Issues with online interviewing and data gathering -

· How will we minimise the impact of the problems?

Ethical issues and concerns far too brief. Also, how you will minimise/mitigate their impact needs to be included.

Questions for in-depth interview - What do you know about any policies implemented to combat the housing crisis? First Home Buyers Assistance scheme: full or partial exemption on stamp/ transfer duty when buying first home under $1,000,000 First Homeowner Grant: $10,000 towards purchase in a new home worth no more than $750,000

Kim: no but I’d like to know some 3 / 10 Makes me feel about looking for a home lessening my anxiety Eden: I know a little bit about the home buyer's scheme Jess: not much but I am aware of some ways to pay less up front, I’m pretty sure heard somewhere that you can pay supa? Renju: I know about stamp duty relief, about the supa contribution and the less deposit needed dependent on profession for example a doctor only needs to pay 5% instead of 10%

- What is your current understanding of the purchasing process? Buying a home: Apply for loan pre-approval, apply for home loan, when accepted conduct contract review with solicitor/ conveyancer, make an offer, contract agreement, pay deposit Renting: Create real estate profile, apply for the property, if accepted sign documentation and pay 2 weeks advance and bond

Kim: I know the purchasing process depends on age and I think if you are under thirty if costs more if you want to buy a home Eden: I know I need to be approved for a loan but I’m kind of anxious about this department because my boyfriend handles the finances. However, when I saw the flyer it sparked my interest because I thought I could learn more about the process Jess: I know it's complex and overwhelming especially in these times with so much demand Renju: eligibility, current expense, annual income, possibility of daily expenses in future

4 / 10 - How do you feel when considering purchasing a home with the recent price increase in the housing market? Kim: It feels like it's almost impossible, I feel like I don’t know enough, that my age is used against me when wanting to buy a house in comparison to someone who is older Eden: quite nervous that it will never be something I can never achieve, had to recently move due to rent increase because we could not afford it with our incomes, struggling to save for loan approval

Jess: I feel like I will have to move somewhere else that I did not originally want which scares me because my entire family is here, and I don’t want to leave them behind Renju: I will not buy a home. They say it is about inflation, but it is not just about inflation, it is about generating more revenue. The banks are getting rich

- What factors influence this? - wages, cost of living Kim: competition between people selling, age, where you live, in Sydney basically impossibly to buy unless a millionaire, number of people moving in, employment status Eden: definitely my and my partner’s income and how we have to have a percentage of the deposit even though we have shown we pay our rent every fortnight Jess: for me it’s 100% the demand because everyone wants to live in urban city areas and not everyone can Renju: low wages, cost of living , increase in interest rate

- What has been your experience when viewing properties? According to that quote 5 / 10 Kim: it’s been very difficult finding a place to even get approval, feels like a home is already sold before I get there, difficult finding a place with two bedrooms, or finding a place to rent that will accept pets because I am unable to afford a home Eden: mines been very stressful purely for the fact I walk into theses home and don’t think I'll be able to afford them so I am just instantly disappointed Jess: I feel verry rushed the second I get there the agent is telling me they’ve got offers and I need to make an offer now so I feel unable to actually view and consider the property, lots of pressure Renju: Been thinking about investing in real estate than st

- Can you tell me a bit about the difficulties you faced if there were any? Kim: I feel there is a bias to me due to my age, due to being a student unable to look for housing full time, being a student unable to work full time to afford property and the stress of it all has affected my mental health Eden: my difficulties have been more I guess within my relationship, the stress of trying to save, the stress of finding a bank that will approve our loan has just put a lot of added pressure on us Jess: for me, I’ve had to look at places far away from where I currently on which I’ve been all alone throughout that. My family supports me, but they would like to stay where they are now. Renju: I'm not planning on buying a home, so I don’t need to worry about it. Planning on just renting due to cost of housing that is not profitable for investment.

- 6 / 10 - You will need to have some answers ready for the knowledge questions, that way you can make sure that the interviewer and participant will be on the same page for the rest of the interview.

- Change q2 from a yes/no to a more open ended ‘how do you feel...’ style question. - Identify some possible probes to help get more detailed responses from your participants.

Questions for focus groups

- What is your understanding of the process of purchasing a home? Renju (Focus group with any young adult aged 20-25) - “definitely not enough, making nervous - Couldn’t do own, asking my dad - Different steps is over-whelming - Government process fee is expensive -

- What is your ideal housing situation goals short-term and long-term? (e.g., how big, where you want to live, with who, etc.) Do you see this as financially realistic? Why/why not? (Full-time Uni & Tafe students. Aged between 18-years-old and 24-years-old, non-gender or ethnic specific) - Kim “Live with parents, staying with them till uni cause can't afford” “Currently renting with friend, not ideal because the cost of rent is crazy, would prefer to live with family unfortunately not a possibility.” “Long-term wanting to save for a house” 7 / 10 “I'd like to have a house one day but I don’t see it happening, don’t like the cost, the business of Wollongong, want somewhere quieter.”

- Has saving for a home had an impact on your social life? Do you feel isolated because of this, and has this impacted your mental health? - Eden Focus group - diverse group – students, renters, young people living at home saving- full time and part time workers - “Working so often, can't see friends and family” - “Friends are working just as much as they are in a similar situation” - “it can bring up comparison when is see my friends working harder than I am” -

- How have you adapted your housing preferences within the present market? Has this made you nervous or stressed? Jess (Focus group with uni students) - Don’t want to live there anymore. Can't see the point of living in Wollongong anymore. Can get a bigger house somewhere else or a shoebox in Wollongong. - But what if I don’t want to move away? - Less opportunities for work elsewhere. changes your whole life

- I've aways wanted to stay around friends and family so I think my preference has not changed, but unfortunately, it is no longer realistic to buy a house that I once dreamt of which doesn't make me feel great - More so a bit disappointed that I won't be able to afford something I envisioned for myself - It’s a big decision to make - Very Difficult to manage 8 / 10 - If the interest rate increases, we need to work more and reduce time with family and friends

Want a discussion, what would you do differently, how is that different for you

Recruitment process - Real estate agents Bias of participants to be involved in interviews Gatekeeping – recruit other places - Social media - Posting in groups on e.g.-fb Bias of people in group Not a huge outreach - Not being able to share- if private group - Flyers in cafes Specific demographic of people Not the age range of people we are after - Through universities / Tafe (email, in class) Student might not check or turn up - Sport clubs

Recruitment will take place in several places to ensure participants involved are young adults from different backgrounds – university students, full time workers, different cultural backgrounds, different socioeconomic backgrounds

Interview roles 9 / 10 - university student recruited from seeing an email sent out about interview - mature age 26 –

work part time- doesn’t agree with policies and process- will never buy a home (Renju)

- 26-year-old, mature-aged student. Found by in person, asking. Is unable to find independent housing due to minimum income. Lives at home due to this. - Kim

- 20-year-old who saw a flyer in café about interview- looking to buy a house with boyfriend- struggling to save due to price of rent – Eden - - 25 year old- unsuccessful in buying a home due to demand – had to look in different areas that was not originally in plan (Jess)

Quotes - Indepth interview

- mines been very stressful purely for the fact I walk into theses home and don’t think I'll be able to afford them, so I am just instantly disappointed Not just an impact on finances but also on emotions (mental health) - I feel verry rushed the second I get there the agent is telling me they’ve got offers and I need to make an offer now so I feel unable to actually view and consider the property, lots of pressure Added pressure to already stressful situation Pressure to put in an offer even if not 100% happy with property due to high demand - “I feel there is a bias to me due to my age” Feel instantly judged that not going to be able to afford - “I'm not planning on buying a home, so I don’t need to worry about it.” Due to price and demand instantly feel like unattainable so not even going to try 10 / 10

Relate these quotes back to the overarching research question more directly and possibly even something from the background section. Also, importantly for the assignment, use these quotes to critique qualitative methods and display your knowledge of these methods.