Canberra ‘well placed’ to speed up housing supply
Good news for Territorian investors: a range of measures will ensure the ACT’s property affordability and liveability is maintained for years to come.
Following national cabinet earlier this week, the ACT government has welcomed the agreeance on reforms set to improve housing supply, access and affordability across the country.
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A statement released by the ACT government said it is “well placed to implement the national cabinet agreed reforms to increase housing supply and improve housing choice, access and affordability”.
Welcoming the $3.5 billion investment from the federal government across the New Home Bonus and Social Housing Accelerator, it said this funding will support the delivery of the new 1.2 million dwelling target.
“We were already planning to deliver our per capita share of the 1 million homes target and will continue to pursue this necessary objective as one of the fastest-growing jurisdictions in the country,” the ACT stated.
Addressing the new National Planning Reform Blueprint, the ACT also said it will implement residential zoning changes to provide more medium-density housing choices in existing Canberra suburbs “through a long-term program of gentle urbanism”.
As part of this, new housing will be able to be built close to transport, public services and economic opportunities.
The ACT indicated that it is “already” increasing housing supply across the board – a $345 million package of housing measures was unveiled as part of the territory’s 2023-24 budget.
Alongside this, it also pointed to its own methods of stamp duty minimisation, having lessened the amount of stamp duty payable in every budget since 2012, which aids in stimulation of transactions, and has occurred alongside the Home Buyer Concession Scheme, and the fact that eligible off-the-plan purchases are already fully exempt from stamp duty.
The government said that such measures complement their land release program, which has seen them identify greenfield and infill sites with capacity for more than 16,000 new dwellings.
It’s also continuing the Affordable Community Housing Land Tax Exemption as well as the Lease Variation Charge discounts available for affordable rental projects across the territory.
In conclusion, the ACT government said that “this all contributes to the government’s objective of a more affordable, sustainable, liveable, diverse, interesting, productive and economically efficient city”.
