The Housing Industry Association, Australia’s largest building industry organisation, today released its inaugural Housing to 2020 report. The report finds that if current building trends persist, then Australia’s cumulated housing shortage would reach 466,000 dwellings by 2020.
HIA Senior Economist, Mr Ben Phillips said that Housing to 2020, which focuses on future housing demand and the number of dwellings required in meeting this demand, highlights a current housing shortage that already numbers over 109,000 dwellings.
“The reality in many regions and cities in Australia is that affordable, well located land is not available or abundant. Furthermore, planning restrictions, higher taxation on new housing relative to existing dwellings, labour shortages, and onerous regulation biased toward new housing all add to the problem.
“If we don’t get a comprehensive supply response to the accumulating housing shortage then the lack of affordable and appropriately located rental properties will only worsen, while pressures on existing home prices will continue at an undesirable rate, placing avoidable upward pressure on interest rates,” Ben Phillips said.
“A lack of skilled labour is an emerging threat to the much needed housing supply response. A second round resources boom this decade will draw heavily on an already tight labour market. The $90 billion worth of resource projects on the books is expected to demand an additional 136,000 direct and indirect jobs. This labour will need to be housed, adding additional pressure to the supply of labour and materials in non-resource regions.”
Housing to 2020 provides the first estimates made of Australia’s housing shortage at a Local Government Area (LGA) level.
“The report finds that shortages exist in just under half (295) of the 669 LGA’s across Australia. The majority of the shortages can be found in and around metropolitan Sydney and Brisbane.
“It was also found that many of the LGA’s with the largest housing shortage are also the same regions with the highest level of demand. Again, it’s the growth areas in the greater Sydney area and in South East Queensland where demand will be amongst the highest in the nation.
“The growth areas in and around Melbourne also show high levels of demand.
“Current construction levels in most high demand areas are simply not sufficient to meet the needs of a fast growing population,” said Ben Phillips.
For further information please contact:
Ben Phillips, Senior Economist 0424 147 321
Harley Dale, Chief Economist 0414 994 186
Australia's Housing Demand and Supply 2011-2020 LGA's
Rank LGA State Demand Current Trend Shortfall
1 Gold Coast (C) QLD 76,500 65,723 10,777
2 Brisbane (C) QLD 70,549 67,613 2,936
3 Ipswich (C) QLD 40,564 22,286 18,278
4 Wanneroo (C) WA 37,896 26,602 11,294
5 Melbourne (C) VIC 34,288 18,231 16,058
6 Wyndham (C) VIC 29,141 30,358 -1,217
7 Sydney (C) NSW 26,693 13,653 13,040
8 Casey (C) VIC 25,706 24,107 1,598
9 Maroochy (S) QLD 24,092 15,118 8,975
10 ACT ACT 23,900 24,478 -578
11 Blacktown (C) NSW 23,830 14,569 9,262
12 Melton (S) VIC 22,688 19,782 2,906
13 Caboolture (S) QLD 20,577 16,733 3,844
14 Pine Rivers (S) QLD 20,264 19,229 1,034
15 Rockingham (C) WA 19,198 10,157 9,041
16 Cairns (C) QLD 18,608 17,732 876
17 Whittlesea (C) VIC 17,895 21,247 -3,352
18 Caloundra (C) QLD 17,051 13,446 3,605
19 Wyong (A) NSW 16,652 5,304 11,348
20 Mornington Peninsula (S) VIC 16,491 13,342 3,149
* Subtraction symbol denotes a surplus in that particular region.
Housing Shortage 2009
Rank LGA 2009 Housing Shortage
1 Brisbane (C) -6474
2 Sydney (C) -5234
3 Bankstown (C) -2285
4 Beaudesert (S) -2227
5 Canterbury (C) -2135
6 Melbourne (C) -2121
7 Wanneroo (C) -1963
8 Ipswich (C) -1913
9 Blacktown (C) -1878
10 Auburn (A) -1780
11 Camden (A) -1752
12 Rockingham (C) -1662
13 Rockdale (C) -1584
14 Port Phillip (C) -1577
15 Caboolture (S) -1485
16 Ryde (C) -1429
17 Logan (C) -1414
18 Wyong (A) -1378
19 Tweed (A) -1308
20 Maroochy (S) -1304