Last week marked the first tentative steps towards a national housing plan.
New Federal Housing Minister Julie Collins met with her state and territory counterparts to advance the critical agenda of housing supply and affordability and we applaud the Minister for starting this important conversation so quickly.
It would be easy for governments to make the mistake that with house prices cooling in the new interest rate cycle, there is no need to focus on such issues. Nothing could be further from the truth.
Official housing supply forecasts show housing supply set to drop by around one third over the next four years, creating a 163,400 dwelling deficit nationally by 2032. This presents a massive challenge going forward.
The establishment of Housing Australia and a new National Housing Affordability and Supply Council are important steps to remedying this, but we need national housing supply targets with real teeth.
These must be matched by strong incentives for the creation of affordable housing.
We can already see the effect this lack of supply is having in the rental market. We need to create a level playing field for innovative solutions like build-to-rent to help face this challenge.
To achieve these goals, governments and the private sector must collaborate and the Property Council’s Board was pleased to meet with Minister Collins last month.
The property industry stands ready help the Government address these challenges.
