Housing construction hits 10-year low as housing crisis bites

The number of new houses being built in Tasmania has slumped to its lowest point in a decade, bucking a rising national trend, Australian Bureau of Statistics figures show.

The number of new houses being built in Tasmania has slumped to its lowest point in a decade, bucking a rising national trend, Australian Bureau of Statistics figures show.

Just 507 new home builds were commenced in Tasmania in the March quarter.

It is less than half the figure recorded in the June 2021 quarter and the 11th consecutive quarterly decline.

The last time there were so few new homes being built in Tasmania was March 2014 – the month the Liberals came to power.

The construction of new housing in Tasmania has dropped to a 10-year low.

The official figures also revealed that just nine public housing dwelling units were commenced in the most recent quarter, towards a target of 10,000 social and affordable homes by 2032.

With the state in the grips of a housing crisis into its fifth year Property Council of Australia Tasmania chief Rebecca Ellston said the state was underperforming.

“Our slow housing completions cast a dark cloud on the state government’s housing targets,” she said.

“Today’s figures reveal the extent of the challenge and just how much we need to lift our game to hit our targets.

Property Council of Australia Tasmania chief Rebecca Ellston. Picture Eddie Safarik.

“The government needs to start using every possible measure to assist the industry deliver the supply of new homes we desperately need.

“It’s time to properly address our housing crisis with determination and speed that matches the urgent need to provide more housing for Tasmanians.”

Acting Minister for Housing and Planning Roger Jaensch said the government had a carefully thought-out suite of policies to back increased housing development.

“Despite a decrease in numbers since our record construction blitz during the Covid pandemic, this Tasmanian Liberal government remains the strongest supporter of our building and construction sector, with a significant number of commitments during the recent election to bolster confidence in the industry,” he said.

“Under our 2030 Strong Plan for Tasmania’s Future, we are incentivising building and construction of the housing that Tasmanians deserve by providing a $10,000 per unit incentive for developers with up to 50 units, and short-term no-interest loans of up to $1m for medium-density units and apartments.”

Greens housing spokesman Vica Bayley said current priorities were all wrong.

“So long as it is focused on a billion-dollar stadium at Macquarie Point, the Rockliff government’s commitment to the construction of new social housing will, quite rightly, be widely questioned,” he said.

“Building 10,000 social and affordable homes by 2032 is a laudable aspiration that we fully support.

“To get there, we’ll need a greater level of government commitment and funding than we have seen to date.

“The coming budget will be a key test but given the job losses in health and likely cuts across all government departments, we fear the housing strategy will suffer and more Tasmanians will languish for longer on already overblown waitlists.”

Labor’s Josh Willie said the data was all the more reason to back the UTAS move.

“It’s completely unacceptable that in the middle of a housing crisis, with building activity at decade lows, the Liberal-Lambie Coalition and their anti-development allies the Greens will stand in the way of a project that will deliver nearly 2,000 new houses for the state.

But Mr Bayley said a more nuanced approach was needed.

“We need to see a comprehensive solution to the housing crisis across the board,” he said. “Releasing one piece of land in the middle of Sandy Bay, liquidating a site that was gifted to the university for property development is not a solution to the housing crisis.

“There needs to be a way more comprehensive approach.”

Originally published as Housing construction hits 10-year low as housing crisis bites