Longlisted for the 2024 Australian Political Book of the Year Award

Everyone claims to want affordable housing, but no one wants cheap housing.

While Australians on regular incomes dream of lower rents and prices, the housing policy debate has been hijacked, sailing further away from workable solutions.

Leading economics commentator Cameron Murray reveals how property insiders shape the housing market and its policy settings. He explains what property developers really mean when they call for more supply in order to provide affordable housing. He shows why landlords and the real estate industry resist rent controls and why the tax and first home buyer policies of the main political parties achieve little for first home buyers. The hoaxes created by the Housing Cheer Squad hide the brutal truth: for every winner in the property market, there is a loser.

For anyone who wants to truly understand the housing market in Australia, The Great Housing Hijack is essential reading. Drawing on the best housing policies around the world, Murray shows how Australia could create a genuinely affordable housing program without compromising the interests of existing property owners.

'If you're not sure you believe the official story of why house prices and rents are so high, read this.' - Ross Gittins

'The only book you need to understand the giant con we have fallen for. Nobody escapes unscathed. Read it.' - Michael Pascoe

'Cameron Murray unpicks Australia's housing market stitch by stitch and reveals the myths, falsehoods and vested interests that underpin the housing debate.' - Greg Jericho