Qld housing crisis: Warning of further 20,000-home shortfall

A peak building industry body has warned the state government that if things remain as they are, Queensland’s housing crisis will only worsen.

Stephanie Bennettstate political reporter

@stephconf

2 min read

July 10, 2023 - 12:00AM

QLD Politics

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Queensland’s housing crisis will worsen, with a further 20,000-home shortfall predicted by 2027 unless urgent action is taken, industry experts warn.

Master Builders Australia chief executive Denita Wawn has called on the state government to take a multifaceted approach, including incentives for the industry and an overhaul of developer charges, saying “unless every box is being ticked, we’re just going to be treading water”.

Data obtained by The Courier-Mail shows an average of 13,200 new townhouses and apartments were predicted to be built in Queensland each year over the next four years.

But at the current population growth rate, the state would need at least 18,000 new medium and high-density properties each year to keep up with demand – a shortfall of almost 20,000 homes.

Ms Wawn said years of poor planning for a growing population had caused major headaches, and inflated land costs meant it was only viable for developers to build higher-end apartments and homes.

“That’s why we need a review of planning, zoning and developer charges,” she said.

The warning comes after Housing Minister Meaghan Scanlon was forced to admit the state’s housing crisis was worse than when the government held its flagship summit on the issue eight months ago.

Housing Minister Meaghan Scanlon last week. Picture: Lyndon Mechielsen

Ms Scanlon said she “strongly supports more density development projects”.

“We need to go up, not just out. We know it’s the best way to get more supply into the market,” she said.

Ms Scanlon also pointed to incentives such as the build-to-rent tax concessions and the Housing Investment Fund – which recently short-listed another 71 proposals from industry – as ways the government was attempting to fast-track private investment.

But she also said the government was keen to work with local councils, as the “primary approvers of development including for new high and medium density homes”.

“Through our government’s SEQ regional plan update we’ve made it clear we are keen to see a wider range of housing choices that meet the evolving needs of our communities,” she said. Ms Wawn said that with the winding down of things like the HomeBuilder scheme, residential builders’ forward books were “not looking good at all”.

But she said that could be leveraged into a strong opportunity to ramp up building new supply.

“While it takes a long time to get a high rise up, it doesn’t take a long time to get townhouses up,” she said.

Ms Scanlon was “keen to work with industry to see how we can utilise the workforce to build more homes for Queenslanders as the HomeBuilder scheme winds down and more labour opens up”.