Land supply cripples Australian housing
Sydney has been identified as the worst capital city for land supply while the nation as a whole faces a deteriorating supply of land for affordable housing, a new report has revealed.
The 2011Urban Development Institute of Australia’s (UDIA) State of the Land Report has found that there is an undersupply of housing right across the national housing market that is putting substantial pressure on housing affordability.
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UDIA National President Peter Sherrie said that, “the report illustrates the growing gap between land supply and demand throughout Australia.
“It paints a concerning picture for policy makers and importantly, for new homebuyers looking to enter the market.”
According to the report Melbourne comfortably leads the other capital cities in terms of supply, with Australia’s largest city, Sydney, coming in last.
“A steady and consistent approach to land supply and housing production in Melbourne has led to a strong result and the medium-term outlook remains positive despite some emerging concerns around development levies,” Mr Sherrie said.
“Sydney continues to perform very poorly despite the emergence of a number of new release areas on the fringe.
“Exceedingly high development levies and a risky and uncertain environment for investment have kept developers away and that must be addressed by policy makers urgently.”
Mr Sherrie said Adelaide, which came in second after Melbourne had offered a stable and reliable supply of land for a number of years, although there are some emerging concerns about short term constraints and the need to implement the 30 year plan for Greater Adelaide effectively.
Lot production in Perth continues to track on a downward trend which began in 2005-06, Mr Sherrie said, but the city came in third, while Brisbane finished up ahead of only Sydney.
“The market in Brisbane is heavily depressed, due in no small part to policy makers following the trend set in NSW to introduce high development levies that have impacted housing affordability heavily and constrained new investment,” Mr Sherrie said.
