Building more homes to increase affordability is always going to be a double-edged sword in this country.
It’s great news for young buyers trying to break into the market, but a sobering trend for owners who rely on their homes to be their great financial assets.
Consequently, the property market and its participants are keenly watching the progress of Federal and state governments to meet their promised residential construction targets set in the National Housing Accord.
It promises to build 1.2 million new, well-located homes over five years from last July.
The Federal Government also promised an additional $350 million over five years to support funding of 10,000 affordable homes – cash that state and territory governments promised to match.
So, can politicians deliver on their promises?
Will the Accord affect the value of residential property in Australia?
The answer appears to be “no” on both counts.
According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), we were 15,000 homes behind the target three months into the project.
To hit the 1.2 million home target, we need an estimated 60,000 new homes every quarter.
The ABS pulled figures for the third quarter of 2024 – from July to September – and found only 44,884 homes had been built.
The worst performance was registered by the Northern Territory, building just 450 of its 571 target.
The best performer was Victoria, which was 0.1% below its quarterly target of 15,316. Ironically, Melbourne is the most sluggish of mainland city markets currently.
A spokesperson for the Property Council said: “Our new home target is much more than an arbitrary number. It is what’s needed to close the national housing supply shortage.
“If we don’t start as we intend to finish, we’ll be kicking into a gale at the final break – making the job near impossible. There’s no time to waste and we can’t afford to slip any further behind.”