While house prices may be falling, the Property Council’s focus on housing remains.
Official forecasts show what the industry knows – Australia is facing an acute housing supply shortage, with supply set to drop by around one third just as population growth resumes. This has already driven rental vacancies across the country to sub one per cent, with this shortage only expected to bite further.
New Property Council research highlights the extent of this challenge for the Sunshine State. The report shows that 220,000 people are planning to leave the southern states and relocate to Queensland in the coming years, which will put pressure on an already strained housing pipeline.
Just days after this research was published, Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has agreed to hold a summit to address the state’s growing housing crisis – a welcome opportunity to address these issues.
But this isn’t just an issue affecting Queensland.
In Perth today, WA Planning Minister Rita Saffioti and Minister for Housing, Lands, Homelessness and Local Government John Carey will outline their future planning reform agenda in front of a Property Council audience.
In NSW, the government recently released its Greater Cities Commission Six Cities Discussion Paper, a move welcomed by the Property Council, emphasising the need to address housing supply, diversity, and affordability.
We continue to work with the Albanese government as it prepares its approach to its promised National Housing and Homelessness Plan. I was in Canberra last week for a range of meetings with policy makers and we were due to take a delegation of our Residential Development Council to Canberra tomorrow for meetings with Ministers (now deferred due to the Queen’s passing).
Action on housing remains critical for the nation and the industry.
