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New figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics show just 13,078 homes were given the go-ahead in April, down 0.3 per cent from the previous month.
The figure is well short of the 20,000 homes that need to be built each month if the country is to meet the federal government’s target of building 1.2 million new homes within five years starting in July.
Building apex body Master Builders Australia said approvals should dramatically escalate after today’s figures.
”The new National Housing Deal starts in less than five weeks and provides for 240,000 new homes each year,” said Chief Economist Shane Garrett.
“However, there have been fewer than 163,500 new home building approvals in Australia over the past 12 months.
“Just 60,600 higher density homes were approved in the year to April. This is the lowest total for any 12-month period since September 2012, almost 12 years ago.
“The challenge is huge, not impossible, but it requires a 47 percent increase in the volume of new home production.”
”We need to ramp up housing production quickly to meet the targets of the housing deal, but some in government have left the handbrake on,” she said.
“The hurdles are clear to all, approval delays, commodity shortages, material cost inflation, unrelated changes in industrial relations, ineffective regulation and others.
The only Australian capital where homes average below $500,000
“We’re starting to sound like a broken record, but the situation is critical. If we don’t remove the obstacles stopping builders from getting on with the job, we will have no hope of meeting the target of 1.2 million new homes by 2029.
“The public is crying out for more housing supply, but unless we urgently clear the way for builders to get to work, demand will continue to dwarf supply and Australians will continue to feel the impact of the housing crisis.” “
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