This has meant that, for many households, traditional benchmarks of affordability – such as the often-quoted 30 per cent rule – may now be somewhat dated. While the picture on arrears for the household sector as a whole is quite benign, there are nonetheless significant pockets in the community where the high price of housing is causing financial distress. 4.
The rental market is currently very tight, with vacancy rates at low levels and rents rising quickly. This comes after a decade when rents increased by much less than the price of houses, causing rental yields to fall to levels that discouraged increases in the supply of rental properties.