Master Builders welcomes national approach to housing crisis

THE building community welcomes the National Cabinet’s announcement this week for a national approach to reforms to address the housing crisis, according to Master Builders Australia.

Master Builders Australia CEO Denita Wawn said the decision to tackle infrastructure investment, planning reforms to increase housing supply and affordability alongside sustainable growth across states and territories was an important signal for the industry.

“Industry will work closely with the planning Ministers and National Cabinet to ensure all options are on the table and there are no unintended consequences of other reforms that may dampen this effort,” Ms Wawn said

The Federal Government also announced a series of other measures to boost investment for increasing housing supply including: increasing the depreciation rate for eligible new build-to-rent projects, and reducing the withholding tax rate for eligible fund payments for managed investment trusts to foreign residents on income from newly constructed residential build-to-rent properties.

“We are seeing rental inflation accelerate to its fastest pace since 2012 brought on by shortages in land supply and exacerbated by rising interest rates," Ms Wawn said.

“For many builders and developers, initiating large-scale home building projects in the current environment is simply too risky as medium to high density is most sensitive to interest rate fluctuations.

“Measures to make the housing industry a more attractive place to invest is welcome at a time when communities are crying out for more supply.

“This is only one piece of the jigsaw, and we urge the Opposition and crossbench to not delay the passing of the Housing Australia Future Fund which is another piece to attract investment in social and affordable housing.

“More needs to be done to speed up the delivery of new housing in the medium and high-density part of the market over the short term. Government efforts to expand the stock of build-to-rent will provide welcome support," Ms Wawn said.

“The challenge will be to make sure that we put downward pressure on building and construction costs to increase output.

“Builders continue to face regulatory burdens and prolonged delays in approvals for building applications, occupation certificates and land titles. Additionally, land shortages in the wrong places, high developer charges and inflexible planning laws are restricting opportunities to meet demand, speed up project timelines, and minimise costs to both builders and their clients,” Ms Wawn said.

Master Builders’ Delivering the housing needs for all Australians recommends policies around housing supply, workforce, supply chain risk and cost pressures, simplifying regulatory settings that support investment in housing and business productivity.

www.masterbuilders.com.au

 

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