‘s most populous city could soon become a ‘city with no grandchildren’ as young families and professionals leave in search of cheaper alternatives.
A report from NSW Productivity Commissioner, Peter Achterstraat, found that twice as many people aged between 30-40 had left Sydney between 2016 and 2021 than had arrived.
Mr Achterstraat said the driving force behind the exodus is the cost of housing, as most can only afford to buy in the outer suburbs and face a long commute to work.
The Tucci family are among the many families who have fled Sydney, having left the inner-west suburb of Leichhardt for Cairns, in far north Queensland, in January.
The family-of-four couldn’t afford a multi-million dollar mortgage in ‘s biggest city but were able to snap up a block of three units on the beach in a tropical climate for just $1million.
A new report has found twice as many people aged 30-40 are leaving Sydney (pictured) than are arriving, prompting a warning that it could become a ‘city with no grandchildren’
The family’s father, Adrian Tucci, said he couldn’t make enough money to support a massive mortgage, two kids and his wife Nicole – a stay-at-home mother – despite running a successful painting business.
Mr Tucci employed as many as nine people while working in Sydney and said he had watched many move away from the city in recent years.
‘They’re in the same boat… they’ve gone to the Gold Coast, Adelaide, Perth, places like that, just so that they can afford a house as well (and) raise their kids,’ he told the ABC.
Mr Tucci said his parents, who live in Sydney, understood and supported their departure but were disappointed they wouldn’t be around their grandchildren.
Mr Achterstraat warned there will be more disappointed grandparents living in the city without their children and grandchildren unless the state government intervenes.
His report said the escape from Sydney has highlighted the need to build more apartment complexes in the city’s inner suburbs to drive down property prices.
‘Sydney needs hundreds of thousands of new homes over the next two decades,’ Mr Achterstraat said in the report.
‘Building more in the places people want to live is a key piece to solving the housing jigsaw puzzle.’
One young family, the Tuccis (pictured, Adrian and Nicole Tucci), left the inner-west Sydney suburb of Leichhardt for Cairns, far north Queensland, so they could comfortably buy a property
The exodus has prompted the NSW Productivity Commissioner to call on the state government to act and promote housing projects ‘in the places people want to live’ (stock image)
He said that 45,000 more dwellings could have been built between 2017-2022 without taking up more land if higher buildings were allowed in Sydney.
‘This could have seen prices and rents five-and-a-half per cent lower – $35 a week for the median apartment or a saving of $1,800 a year for renters.’
While the plan to ‘build up’ is backed by the NSW Government – with plans to develop six-storey apartment complexes within 400m of 30 of the city’s train stations – locals aren’t as supportive.
Locals on Sydney’s North Shore have criticised the government for not caring about the area’s heritage or home values.
The state’s Treasurer, Daniel Mookhey, hit back at the locals, saying a balance can be struck between protecting a neighbourhood’s character and also allowing for people to break into the housing market.
Mr Mookhey warning Sydney has five to 10 years to fix its housing sector and prevent it from being dominated by intergenerational wealth, likening it to the American city of San Francisco.
READ MORE: Urgent warning ‘s biggest city could become the next San Francisco
San Francisco has become known for the numerous homeless camps that litter its streets (pictured)