How the Pandemic Changed Living Arrangements of Many Australians

According to recent reports, a percentage of Australians were forced to change their living arrangements because of the current pandemic that has been affecting the world. To most people, the change brought by this pandemic is quite subtle – social distancing and working from home are two examples. Unfortunately, there are quite a few who had to change drastically the way they live. A new survey shows that about 1 in every 6 Australians were forced to change their living arrangements due to the current situation. Many Australians have decided to move back home to their parents. Others have decided to take on additional housemates, possibly to cut down some costs. Heavily hit countries have been on lockdown for a couple of months now, which meant that some businesses had to stop operations temporarily. This also means that some workers that are on a no work no pay basis will have to endure not getting salaries for the whole duration unless their companies have managed to provide some allowances for them. Another small group of Australians decided to delay their plans to move or sell their properties. In early April, a survey of 1000 Australians indicated that 16 percent have had to make a decision to change their living arrangements due to the pandemic. 12 percent of the sample had to move or allowed additional housemates. 3 percent delayed plans, and 1 percent made changes that were not specified. Out of the samples, the survey also found out that the most affected were singles who were living on their own and single parents. A lot of them moved back to their parents, while others had to get used to more people in their homes. Of course, renters were most likely to move houses compared to homeowners. 30 percent of single parents have been on the active move and 12 percent had to go on shared living arrangements. The impact of COVID-19 has caused a huge change in living arrangements. The total number of Australians affected has reached around 3 million. The numbers are expected to rise in the next few months because of the long-term impacts of the pandemic – not just in terms of finances, but also in terms of what people deem more important in a home. Experts predict that there will be a slowdown on property sales because buyers will most likely postpone any buying plans due to the pandemic’s lasting effects. Fortunately, there will still be market activity because some may take advantage of price falls. So those who are looking into climbing a property ladder should be on the lookout for the property market very closely. As for measures to keep Australians safe and secured, the government has promised to make sure that it will continue on. In Victoria, specifically, the government will continue to enable the four bills to “support Victorians, save lives, protect businesses and jobs, and continue delivering vital government services.” “The Appropriation (Interim) Bill 2020 secures $24.5 billion in emergency funding to save lives, support jobs, and businesses, and set Victoria up to recover from the pandemic over the next two years.” according to a recent post media release. As a community, we have the responsibility to care not just for ourselves, but for others as well. Hillbrook Projects is always ready to partner with organizations to provide help to those who are badly affected by this pandemic. Visit our website and our social media accounts for more information.