More than a million lower-income households in Australia pay above the affordability benchmark for their housing costs. More than 100,000 people are homeless. Seventy per cent of us are concerned we'll never own property. Yet owning a home is still seen by most Australians as an essential part of our way of life.

It is generally accepted that Australia is in the grip of a housing crisis. But we are divided - along class, generational and political lines - about what to do about it. Award-winning journalist Peter Mares draws on academic research, statistical data and personal interviews to create a clear picture of Australia's housing problems and to offer practical solutions.

Expertly informed and eminently readable, No Place Like Home cuts through the noise and asks the common-sense questions about why we do housing the way we do, and what the alternatives might be.