Changes needed to reach record home target: HIA, PCA, Metricon, Simonds

Australia’s biggest property players have spelled out the changes needed for the nation to reach an ambitious 1.2 million new home target by 2029. And a home tax cut for buyers is among them.

New home building will need to reach record levels to meet an ambitious 1.2 million target in the next five years, but without change the goal carries risks.

Australia has an ambitious 1.2 million new home target to help address housing shortages and affordability by 2029.

But with the nation’s last construction boom triggering a housing industry crisis that has led to the collapse of some of the country’s biggest builders, there are changes needed to reach the lofty goal without risking a new disaster.

Experts at the Property Council of Australia, Housing Industry of Australia and two of the country’s biggest builders have called for the following big ideas to be reviewed.

RELATED: What could send home prices tumbling

Industry experts say young people need family financial support to purchase a home

Housing crisis and soaring mortgages spark ‘new’ Australian dream for young Aussies

* Reduce taxes on building new homes to incentivise investor funding;

* Better fund and streamline planning departments with a focus on co-ordinating projects across cities to ensure increased housing and infrastructure development with minimal cost inflation;

* Encourage more students to pursue trades and construction careers via Australian schools and tertiary education services;

* Boost skilled worker migration to accelerate construction at the same time as generating a higher need for housing, which will provide additional economic benefits;

More skilled migrants could help boost new home production and the economy.

* Target higher density development to ensure options that suit people at different times of life, including student accommodation, build-to-rent complexes and retirement living;

* Build more townhouses as an affordable stepping stone towards houses, or for families priced out of houses but in need of more space than is viable in apartments;

* Announce the end of the Reserve Bank of Australia rate hiking cycle when appropriate to give buyers greater confidence;

* Have the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority reconsider mortgage serviceability rules governing lenders.

---

Sign up to the Herald Sun Weekly Real Estate Update. Click here to get the latest Victorian property market news delivered direct to your inbox.

MORE: Spring property market: Relief for desperate buyers as listings are likely to rise

REA Group chief executive Owen Wilson: Housing can’t be a luxury

Australian rental crisis: Why affordability is no easy fix