New housing statistics suggest tougher times ahead

New housing statistics suggest tougher times ahead,

New data presents a worrying outlook for housing in New South Wales in the upcoming months.

During the June quarter, dwelling completions in NSW increased slightly, rising from 10,776 in the previous quarter to 12,379.

These figures were reported by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). However, the Property Council of Australia argues that this increase is insufficient.

“NSW continues to face a housing emergency,” said Katie Stevenson, Executive Director of Property Council NSW, in a statement.

“To meet its National Housing Accord target, NSW must complete 18,850 dwellings each quarter. This target represents a more than 50 percent increase from the current numbers.

Furthermore, this is a figure we have not approached since June 2019.

Stevenson warned that “the worst could still be ahead unless urgent reforms are implemented.”

Stevenson asserts that planning bottlenecks and investor taxes are significant factors contributing to the delay in building completion rates.

She noted that only half of all local councils in NSW meet the expected turnaround time for development applications, which is 115 days.

“At the current pace, NSW continues to fall significantly short of housing needs,” Stevenson stated. This situation threatens housing affordability and the dream of homeownership for many individuals.

“Without necessary changes, we are set to miss over 100,000 new homes. This number is equivalent to the population of a city like Wollongong.”

She urged the state government to expedite reforms within the planning system. This acceleration is essential to unlock new housing supply and make developments more feasible for investors.