Missing Middle: Stuck between a Brick and a Hard place

Australians too 'well off' for social housing, too broke for the market and too important to ignore.

Origin of ‘Missing Middle’

The concept of ‘missing middle housing’ originated in the United States. It was coined by architect Daniel Parolek in 2010 and describes the lack of medium-density housing options like duplexes, row houses, bungalow courts, that fall between single-family homes and large apartment towers.  

Priced out. Left out. But not given up.

When we talk about Australia’s housing crisis, we usually focus on the extremes:

• Those who already own (and are clinging on for dear life), and

• Those who rely on social housing or emergency accommodation.

But there’s another group, growing every year, who don’t fit neatly into either category. They’re not eligible for social housing, yet home ownership might as well be on Mars - the Missing Middle.

Who are the Missing Middle?

They’re our essential workers, young families, single parents, and older Australians on modest incomes. 

• The aged care worker keeping your grandparents safe.

• The childcare educator shaping the early years of our kids’ lives.

• The retail worker who knows your coffee order better than you do. 

They earn just enough to be ineligible for social housing… but not enough to get a mortgage approved. They’re caught in that awkward “too much, too little” space, like being overdressed for a BBQ and underdressed for a wedding.

The numbers don’t lie (unfortunately)  

• 90% of suburbs are now unaffordable in Australia, despite gross incomes being $100,000.

  (Source: Morningstar)

• To buy a median-priced home in a capital city without mortgage stress, you’ll need an income of around $203,000 or up to $300,000 if you’re eyeing Sydney.

  (Source: realestate.com.au)

• In Sydney alone, homes under $750,000 are disappearing so fast they could be gone by 2027.

  (Source: realestats.com.au)

• Ownership among 25–34-year-olds has fallen from 61% in the 1980s to just 43% today.

  (Source: Parliament of Australia)

If you’re part of the Missing Middle, the numbers don’t just look bad, they feel personal.

Why it matters

When the Missing Middle can’t afford to live near where they work, communities start to fray:

Local services can’t keep staff.

• Families lose hours each day to long commutes.

• Kids change schools more often than they change lunchboxes.

And the longer people stay locked out of ownership, the harder it is to build stability or pass on wealth. We’re not just talking about bricks and mortar — we’re talking about building a future.

What’s at stake if we ignore them?

If we keep pretending the Missing Middle will somehow ‘sort itself out’, here’s what we’ll get:

• Greater reliance on welfare later in life.

• More pressure on an already creaking rental market.

• Communities hollowed out as locals move further away in search of affordable housing.

It’s not just a next-term problem. It’s an ‘already here’ problem.

Where do we start?

We start by seeing the Missing Middle as a priority, not an afterthought:

• Unlock underused land for modest, well located homes.

• Create lending pathways for low-deposit buyers.

• Support housing models that balance cost with liveability - the kind of homes people want to stay in, not just ‘make do’ in.

Because if we keep designing policy only for the top and bottom, we’re going to lose the people who hold the middle together.

The Missing Middle aren’t invisible. They’re raising our kids, caring for our elderly, serving our coffee- and still waiting for a place to call their own. It’s time to hand them the keys.