Property industry wants housing supply centre of election campaign

AUSTRALIA’S property industry is calling for a radical rethink from the major parties on how to boost housing supply nationwide, as the issue shapes as a key election battleground.

Dissatisfaction with housing in Australia reached a record high in 2024 and the worsening situation facing voters is expected to be high on the agenda at the election due by May.

Real Estate Institute NSW CEO Tim McKibben said major parties, yet to announce detailed election pitches on housing, needed to do one key thing – remove spin from the debate.

“I think we need to take this problem on and the only solution is more homes, that’s it and everything that spins around that is just politics,” McKibben told Australian Conveyancer.

Too often governments attacked the issue with superficial measures, he said, pointing to the recently announced two-year ban on foreigners buying existing homes. The government estimates that the temporary move will free up around 3,600 homes for local purchasers.

“The foreign buyers are less than one per cent,” McKibben said.

 “That’s the sort of thing that we see but what we don’t see enough of is the removal of impediments to construction and incentivizing people to build more properties.”

He suggested the major parties look at removing GST on new properties, as well as use their soft power over the states to prompt stronger action at the state level.

“The federal government obviously wields a lot of influence over state governments and can because there is money coming from federal to state. They can certainly incentivize states to conduct themselves in a way that will bring more property to market.”

 The Housing Industry Association said its election ask was similar to what it wanted from the upcoming budget – a government serious about tackling barriers to housing supply.

HIA managing director Jocelyn Martin said the group wanted a $12 billion infrastructure investment over the next five years “as a cornerstone of the solution” on housing.

“This funding is essential to unlock land supply and deliver the enabling infrastructure – such as roads, water and sewerage – that housing developments require,” she said in a statement provided by a spokesperson.

 “The lack of essential infrastructure is a handbrake on housing supply, and this budget must take steps to prioritize infrastructure funding to fast-track projects and make land ready for development,” Martin added.

“In addition to addressing supply and infrastructure, HIA is also focusing on workforce shortages, which pose a significant challenge to meeting housing targets.

“To deliver the government’s commitment of 1.2 million homes over five years, we need 83,000 additional skilled workers in the residential construction industry.”

The government has committed $32 billion to deliver 1,2 million homes in Australia by the end of the decade, a pledge that it says involves training more tradespeople, funding more apprenticeships, growing the workforce, and kickstarting construction.