Quantifying affordable housing need in the
City of Whittlesea
NEEDS ASSESSMENT
HOUSING
CITY OF WHITTLESEA
The Challenge
The City of Whittlesea needed a practical, evidence-based tool to support affordable housing planning through to 2041. With their Affordable Housing Plan 2025–2030 in development, the Council required suburb-level forecasts to set clear delivery targets across one of Melbourne’s fastest growing areas. The Council’s planning team wanted a practical tool they could easily apply, rather than a dense academic report.
Our Approach
Insight Demographics developed an affordable housing needs assessment grounded in a robust definition of unmet housing need, delivering year-by-year forecasts for every suburb in Whittlesea out to 2041. Our assumptions were informed by a comprehensive analysis of housing affordability, drawing on current Australian housing research and historic rental trends across Whittlesea, Greater Melbourne, and Australia.
The Outcome
The City of Whittlesea received a clear, actionable resource that enabled their planners to set evidence-based affordable housing targets for both established suburbs and new growth areas. Backed by suburb-specific insights, our needs assessment was easily accessible and directly informed the City of Whittlesea Affordable Housing Plan 2025–2030.