Home → Current news → Red tape driving up the cost of new homes

Red tape driving up the cost of new homes

Thursday 18 September 2008

A new report on Australia's housing affordability crisis shows the impact of a range of NSW State Government regulatory burdens on the supply and cost of new homes.

The report Housing Affordability in Australia: A Supply-Side Analysis by the University of Newcastle-based Australian Competition Policy Research Alliance (ACPRA) highlights the importance of improving the supply-side of the housing market to meet the shortfall and address the crisis.

It calls for reduced charges, increased land releases and a more efficient and responsive planning system with the aim of making housing affordable again for young Australians.

The report also highlights the work of other states in containing rising house costs.

ACPRA researcher Dr Kerry London says responsibility for addressing the housing problem rests at the feet of the NSW Government.

"The tradition of young families buying their first home - a house on its own block in the suburbs - remains just a dream for many Australians," Dr London said.

"Infrastructure funding arrangements, restrictions on the release of the land, land use constraints, design requirements and approval processes are adding significantly to the price of new houses.

"These costs, combined with interest rate rises, have pushed the price of new houses beyond the borrowing capacity of first home buyers. As a result new housing production has fallen rapidly."

Dr London says the NSW Government should examine recent initiatives by the Victorian and Queensland Government's as successful ways to make a start on improving affordability.

"Victoria and Queensland are fast tracking the release of large parcels of developable land at the same time streamlining the approvals processes and removing other barriers to development," she said.

"The lack of action by the NSW Government means there is a real potential for a generation of Australians to be trapped in the rental market."

ACPRA is the University of Newcastle-based research body that seeks to bring together key decision-makers and stakeholders involved in the social and economic development of Australia.

Housing Affordability in Australia: A Supply-Side Analysis will be launched Thursday 18 September at 10.30am at Syracusa (former University Staff House) on the University of Newcastle Callaghan campus.

Media are welcome.

Media contact: Blythe Hamilton, Media and Public Relations, on 0448 898 813.