Australia Struggling To Supply Housing

The National Housing Supply Council’s recent State of Supply Report shows that Australia will struggle to accommodate the growing population. Their estimate is that over the next 20 years Australia will need to house 28 million people with the greatest pressures in Melbourne, New South Wales, South East Queensland and Perth.

The report also shows that the housing types will also change with more medium and higher density dwellings with single houses also growing but to a slightly lesser degree.

By 2028 the projected demand for additional housing is expected to reach 3.2 million with approximately two-thirds of that number to be in and around four of the major cities, namely: Brisbane and surrounding SE Queensland areas, Sydney, Melbourne and Perth.

The overall shortfall in Australia, as of June 2009, is 178,400 dwellings. The lack of the number of new houses being built in 2008/2009 was brought about, amongst other issues, by the lack of land supply and difficulty in gaining finance due to the global recession.

Although the global crises will improve over time there are some other local issues in each area that need to be resolved before we see an upward swing in the number of houses being built. Local governments and councils must change their approach to housing growth to meet the needs of population growth in their areas.

Issues such as plentiful land supply, council approvals, labour and capital supply and taxation all need to be addressed so that Australia will have the housing it needs in the future. Neglect in any areas will cause major housing shortages in various areas around the country.

Property investor will benefit as there is a clear indication that rental demand will remain high for many years to come which is encouraging news when building a property portfolio. It is reports such as this that help a property investor plan for the future.

Filed Under: Property News