REIA calls for urgent industry-government plan to tackle housing issues

And while supply shortfalls do predate the pandemic, with a shortage of 150,000 homes reported prior to COVID, REIA president Adrian Kelly believes the problem will swell once the country’s negative population growth is reversed.

”With 235,000 new Australians expected to return in force by 2023-2024, after negative population growth, enabling supply is going to be critical.

“Between 2023 and 2060, we can expect significant changes to the status quo, which must be planned for,” Mr Kelly said.

But supply shortfalls are not the only barriers to home ownership, with housing affordability reportedly at “its worst ever” across states such as NSW, where home buyers are required to spend over 43 per cent of their income on loan repayments.

REIA believes a collaborative industry-government plan addressing five categories of the housing spectrum is vital to help plug these holes. These include homelessness, social and affordable housing, private rental, first home buyers and home ownership.

To address these five categories, REIA believes a Property Ministers forum must first be established, tasked with developing A Home for All Australians property strategy.

According to REIA, the strategy should:

• be clear and performance-based, holding both state and federal governments accountable
• cover the whole housing spectrum, with emphasis on advancing private property requirements
• have a structured program of industry engagement similar to the Infrastructure & Transport Council (where industry is given a ‘seat at the table’)
• identify targets and benchmark – including housing stock, land release and national planning reform – which will progress annually.

“The reality is we need to bring the state and federal governments to the table to tackling a housing a housing supply plan using the same spirit, determination and funding we have used to fight COVID-19,” Mr Kelly concluded.