Today’s ABS data on residential building activity indicates that the modest quarterly increase in dwelling commencements is masking a much more dire issue.
“In order for us to hit the housing targets we need around 37,800 house commencements nationally every quarter and we are now sitting at only 23,900, that means we are undershooting by 37% on housing,” said Col Dutton, Urban Development Institute of Australia (UDIA) National President.
“We also need around 22,200 multi-unit commencements every quarter and we are under this volume by 36%,” he added.
Source ABS, UDIA
What the graph above shows is that detached commencements are all falling off a cliff since the peak of 2021 and multi-unit commencements are down to the lowest level in a decade.
“The marginal increases revealed in today’s data are hiding a disaster not only for the industry but importantly for the people of Australia desperate to get onto the property ladder if we cannot stimulate new housing supply,” said Col Dutton.
We urgently need government to take action on the following two issues:
More homes more Quickly:
- Incentivise accelerated approvals, more housing supply & density bonuses for added floor space, height or reduced lot size to deliver more housing fast across the continuum.
- Reward States & Territories financially under the bonus for dwelling approvals issued on the 1.2m Accord target to support “front end” delivery, rather than waiting for builds.
Effective Planning Systems:
- Incentivise streamlined planning across the continuum including halving planning times and accelerating zoning to convert undeliverable zoned land to housing faster.
Key facts from today’s ABS data national dwelling commencements:
- A modest quarterly increase of 1.3% for the December quarter, however the 38,400 dwelling starts across the country was down 10% on a rolling 12-month basis, and down 13% on the long run average.
- Separate house commencements were 16% weaker for the 12 months to December 2023 than the preceding year and while multi-unit commencements remained at a similar level to the year before were down 14% on the long run average and down 32% on pre-pandemic levels.
–ENDS —
Media Enquiries:
Deanna Lane | Director, National Media & Communications | 0416 295 898 | media@udia.com.au