Sad state of Australia’s housing market seen in Brisbane’s growing tent city with some people saying it’s the worst they’ve ever seen: ‘What have we become?’

Shocking footage shows dozens of Australians are now taking up residence in a growing tent city in a picturesque coastal park in one of Australia’s capital cities.

Footage posted online on Wednesday showed clusters of tents set up along the Brisbane River between the William Jolly and Gow Between Bridges in the central suburb of South Brisbane.

Many tents can be seen hidden under large trees, and park benches and seats appear to be used as drying areas.

The video has caught the attention of Brisbane residents who say the homelessness problem is worsening across the country.

The shocking scene follows record house and rent prices, leading to a sharp rise in the number of Australians experiencing homelessness.

The Reddit post noted that the park “appears to be a safe place for people who have failed to get approved for housing,” but reflected a much larger problem.

“Clearly something is wrong and real estate greed is becoming increasingly rampant in the wake of the pandemic,” it said.

“I hope the housing and rental market improves soon.”

Hundreds of shocked users commented on the post, saying they had seen other tent cities in Brisbane and other places in Australia.

One user said the park had had tents for “at least five years, but this is definitely the worst I’ve seen.”

“The tents have also returned to Musgrave Park in the West End,” a second user wrote, calling it “heartbreaking.”

“Worst Brisbane I’ve ever seen and I’ve lived here for 20+ years,” wrote a third.

“I have seen tent cities in Los Angeles and Washington, but I never thought I would see a similar situation in Australia. What have we become? another person complained.

“The idea of ​​even one homeless person in the city seemed laughable just five years ago,” another person noted.

Another user admitted that he was close to living in a tent, but had his sights set on beach tents.

Footage filmed along the Brisbane River shows a growing homeless tent city amid a housing and cost of living crisis (pictured)

Tents can be seen clustered under trees between the William Jolly and Go Bridges in suburban South Brisbane.

Brisbane’s vacancy rate remained below one per cent in all but one of the 20 months to October.

Over the same period, rental prices rose 25 percent and home values ​​rose about 18 percent.

Queensland has seen the biggest increase in requests for homelessness assistance of any state, according to a report from Homehood Australia.

The peak homelessness authority found that 16,225 people in the state sought help in March 2023, a 12.9 percent increase from December 2022.

Western Australia and New South Wales followed with increases of more than 11 and 10 percent respectively, while the national rate increased by 7.5 percent among those seeking help.

Homelessness Australia found that 83 per cent of the approximately 95,000 people seeking help across the country did so because of “housing problems or financial stress”.

The organization’s chief executive Kate Colvin said the 7.5% increase was unprecedented and put homeless services at risk.

“A 7.5% increase in demand in just four months is unheard of,” Ms Colvin said.

“This is forcing homeless services to make extremely difficult decisions about who gets help.”