Housing affordability one of Illawarra s greatest challenges

Housing affordability: one of Illawarra’s greatest challenges A recent global housing affordability survey by Demographia found the ratio of median household income to median house price is 8.3 in the Illawarra, which means it is less affordable than New York which has a ratio of 5.9. Housing affordability across Australia is at crisis point. The primary driver of sky rocketing house prices is a lack of adequate and affordable supply of land and new housing stock to meet demand. This is one of the most significant issues for the Illawarra, affecting all incomes from those in rental housing stress, first home buyers, students, families up sizing and downsizing. Planning system reform is needed to support the turbo-charge release of new housing in both greenfield and in-fill developments. Increasing the urban density of housing supply across the Illawarra is central to this. This means changes to floor space ratios, height limits and zoning that allows greater densities around urban centres, particularly along the northern corridor. The Illawarra Regional Plan states that the region needs 35,400 new homes over the next 20 years. The Property Council think that this is a very conservative estimate, however given the current impediments to development we are not likely to even hit this target without some significant change to the status quo. As a community we also need to look at innovative solutions to addressing affordable housing needs. Local Government need to play a key role here by unlocking under utilized land holidngs and partnering with the private sector to deliver new housing products. There are some great examples across Australia that have turned car parks into housing projects that deliver a mix of private, affordable and social housing. Given the significant challenge here, the response needs to multi-faceted with action from entire community – including local and state government, developers, community housing providers and a change in community perceptions about medium and higher density housing.