WA Council of Social Services cost of living report deems Mid West second most affordable region to live in

A report revealing the true extent of the cost-of-living crisis has ranked the Mid West as the second-most affordable region to live in amid a Statewide rental market driving low income families to the brink. The WA Council of Social Service (WACOSS) cost of living report — released on Tuesday — found Mid West residents were not paying as much as their regional or metro counterparts. Data from REIWA was used to assess the rental crisis in the regions, making note of the fact that availability can become even more of a critical factor in rural areas, as housing markets are significantly smaller. The most affordable region to rent in for all household types was the Wheatbelt, followed closely by the Mid West, with the Kimberley the least affordable region to reside. Weekly expenditure for a single parent and age pensioners in the Mid West is a median of $238, for two-parent families the cost is $315.99, while unemployed singles in share houses pay $105.33 per week. The Mid West also saw the second-lowest increase in weekly rent when compared with 2021-22 figures for two-parent families and unemployed singles. Rent for both rose 6.98 per cent ($20.61). Single parent and aged pensioner rent saw the third-highest difference when compared with 2021-22 figures, rising 17.89 per cent ($36.12). The report also examined weekly expenditure on food and beverages per household in each region. Mid West median expenditure per week sat at $258.18 for single-parent households. Two-parent families spent $372 per week, while unemployed singles were spending $113.81 and aged pensioners were spending $227.63. Food prices in the Mid West, the Wheatbelt and Goldfields-Esperance are noticeably higher than Perth, which recorded a weekly expenditure of $248 for a single-parent household in the metro area. “The community should be able to have confidence that the rental market will provide liveable, affordable, and stable housing where people can happily make their home,” the report states. “For landlords, our current rental system is a dream state, where they have free rein to hike rents as much as they please, with little consequence due to the supply-demand imbalance and a lack of regulation around those increases.” The report’s regional breakdown acknowledges low-income households in the regions will likely be forced to change their actual expenditure patterns where prices are higher. Accessibility to transport in the regions is also mentioned, as outer-suburban and rural residents must rely more heavily on cars due to the absence of public transport, another cost to foot.