2019/07/29 by Kath Hulse, Margaret Reynolds, Chris Martin · 2 citations
Economics, Econometrics and Finance · Health Professions · Social Sciences · #Homelessness and Social Issues #Housing, Finance, and Neoliberalism #Political Economy and Marxism
paper · doi:10.1080/02673037.2019.1644297
openalex publication_date 2019/07/29 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
This article investigates the politico-cultural processes underpinning the financialization of private rental housing. Exploring the case of Australia, it shows how debt-financed landlords have been discursively reframed as ‘mum and dad investors’ who are valorized politically as enterprising, self-reliant and providing essential housing. This article then critically appraises this depiction based on available secondary data, and finds that protagonists are, predominantly, midlife and older households with higher household incomes and higher wealth levels. Furthermore, deployment of an Everyman archetype is a politico-cultural device for normalizing this type of activity as part of the financialization of everyday life. Discursive reframing bolsters political and public support for investor-landlordism as an important contributor to asset-based welfare.