when still UDIA National President, just after the Housing Accord target was increased from 1.0 million new homes to 1.2 million over 5 years from FY2024.
My advice at the time: "We won't reach 1 million new homes, let alone 1.2 million".
This call was easy to make against a backdrop of: 📉 Low and dropping approvals 📈 Substantially elevated (and growing) costs 🪙 Increasing imposts of taxes and charges across Federal, State & Local level 🤦🏻 Constipated planning systems 👷🏻♂️ Increased competition for labour 💸 Higher funding costs and interest rates
These are fundamental changes compared to the five years to 2021 where the nation did manage to build just over 1.0m total new dwellings.
Now, finally, others seem to be cottoning on to what I knew back then. A 240,000 shortfall from the target to 2029 is on the cards – and I suspect it could end up even worse.
This was entirely predictable by those who understand #housing #development and #construction, and worse, I could see the changes desperately needed to have a hope of getting there were not being made.
Due to lag effects, big moves were needed to be made two years ago to be impacting the Housing Accord period. It is now too late.
And no – "build to rent" won't save us (though it will contribute).
Good and necessary ideas from us – you know, the people that actually deliver new homes – continue to be ignored, particularly by the States.