Record housing construction at risk from new taxes

Home Media Releases Record housing construction at risk from new taxes

Record housing construction at risk from new taxesBuilding approvals have broken records again, rising to an all-time high of 210,484 for the 12 months to March 2015 in seasonally adjusted terms but new taxes jeopardise this success.The Property Council of Australia said the latest ABS Building Approvals released today underscore the vital importance of keeping up momentum in the property and construction industries, which is the most effective way to put downward pressure on prices.”The only way we can make homes more affordable is to keep supply going strong and building activity levels high,” said Executive Director – Residential, Nick Proud.”Building a record number of new homes is good for jobs, good for the economy and the best possible antidote to high house prices.”Continued strong levels of foreign investment are needed to get big new housing projects off the ground and to quickly convert approvals into starts.”The new taxes on foreign investment being imposed by both the Federal and Victorian Governments announced over the weekend risk slowing down that inflow of capital and jeopardising the number of new homes we see coming onto the market for Australians to buy.”Every newly constructed home that a foreign investor purchases enables up to four other homes to be built, and the more homes we have the better the outcome in terms of affordability.”For the year to March 2015 building approvals have climbed 11.2 per cent, seasonally adjusted, and are up 2.8 per cent for the month of March. “In trend terms we have seen the ninth consecutive month of growth in the total number of dwellings approved in Victoria, and the seventh in New South Wales.”These two states are where the majority of foreign capital is being invested and the benefits of this inflow are clearly visible in these approval numbers. “There is a lot of catching up still to do to make up for the years of undersupply of new homes, the worst thing governments could do is deter the investment that is helping fix the housing deficit.”Media contact: Fiona Benson | M 0407 294 620 | [email protected]