Allan government’s performance on housing ‘worst in the nation’

The Allan government’s approach to the housing crisis has hit a record low with new data revealing its refusal to strip back property taxes means its performance is now rated worst in the nation.

The Allan government’s approach to tackling the housing crisis has been rated the worst in the nation, with its performance plunging to a record low.

New data shows the state government’s refusal to strip back property taxes is increasingly testing industry leaders, with the property sector rating its performance -49 – down from – 40 in June.

The concerning figure – the lowest ever recorded in Victoria – was revealed as part of the latest quarterly sentiment survey by the Property Council of Australia.

The survey of 591 member organisations also found industry confidence in Victoria had risen just one point since June when it hit its lowest level since the pandemic, moving from 90 to 91 – the lowest sentiment score in the nation.

In comparison NSW is sitting on 107, while Queensland has jumped to 113.

The survey reveals industry confidence in Victoria has risen just one point since June.

The industry’s expectation for economic growth in Victoria has also fallen to -44 index points, 25 index points below the national average, and 60 index points below South Australia.

The Property Council’s Victorian executive director Cath Evans said the results should be a “wake-up call” to the government as she urged them to come to the table with tax relief.

“Our industry continues to view market conditions in Victoria as the worst in the nation,” she said.

“At the exact time we need to be accelerating progress towards the Victorian government’s housing targets, we’re going backwards instead.”

Property Council of Australia Victorian executive director Cath Evans says the results should be a ‘wake-up call’ to the government. Picture: Jake Nowakowski

Ms Evans said the results also showed the industry was “sharply pulling back on any workforce growth” despite plans by the state government to build 2.5 million new homes by 2051.

“Victorian members have a staffing level expectation index of 0.4 in terms of net balance over the next 12 months, while Queensland and New South Wales lead Victoria with balances of 7.6 and 9.8, respectively,” she said.

“Without immediate and impactful measures, the investment needed for new homes will not come to Victoria, but head to other states where governments are proving to be more agile in the response to what is both a social and economic crisis.”

It comes as a new report, released by global recruitment agency Hays, revealed an estimated half a million extra tradies will be needed across Australia in the next three to five years to meet the federal government’s housing targets and deliver major infrastructure projects, such as the Suburban Rail Loop.

An estimated half a million extra tradies will be needed in the next three to five years to meet the federal government’s housing targets and deliver major infrastructure projects like the SRL.

Hays ANZ Director Technical Austin Blackburne said as Australia experiences the most “acute shortages of skilled trades” in history, the Victorian government must attract overseas investment in high density housing, and more skilled migrants.

“We should be able to build something like the SRL and build houses at the same time,” he said.

A Victorian government spokesperson said new ABS data released on Tuesday showed Victoria had approved 18,000 more homes than QLD and about 10,000 more than NSW in the past 12 months.

“The statistics don’t lie – Victoria continues to build and approve thousands of more homes than any other state in the country,” she said.