In short, even if you could magically: ➡️reduce construction costs by $1,000/m2 across the building ➡️remove ALL government taxes, charges and contributions ➡️double lot yield on each site ➡️speed up DAs by 4 months
you still end up with 2 bedroom apartments not being feasible in 8 of the 11 TOD precincts identified by the NSW Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure. With “feasible” being a suitable market price in that catchment, not that it is attainable to most new home purchasers.
More striking is that with current requirements and settings, a new two bedroom apartment in the Sydney basin will need to retail for around $1.2m – approaching $20,000 per m2 for a basic dwelling.
No wonder we are seeing young couples and families leaving Sydney when they can’t find suitable housing at a price most can afford.
Absolutely, build as many of these units as the market can accept, but we will need more than this to get close to achieving state and national housing targets.
Perhaps other jurisdictions can learn from these issues and help facilitate #development or more homes that meets the needs of new homebuyers and is able to be delivered at prices they can actually afford?