Australia has fallen behind its goal to build 1.2 million new homes by 2029, with a deficit of more than 15,000 homes reported just three months into the initiative.
This was revealed by the latest seasonally adjusted figures from the ABS.
To achieve the National Housing Accord’s target, the country needs to construct 60,000 homes every quarter. However, data from the first quarter, starting July 1, showed only 44,884 homes were completed.
The shortfall is not uniformly distributed across the country.
The Northern Territory is the farthest behind, achieving only 21.4% of its quarterly target of 571 homes. Victoria, on the other hand, narrowly missed its target by 0.1%, with a quarterly goal of 15,316 homes, the Property Council reported.
The performance this quarter marks a 0.9% decrease from the June quarter, which immediately preceded the initiation of the National Housing Accord.
Despite the overall shortfall, there is a silver lining with a 4.6% increase in new housing commencements and a 3.8% rise in new apartment and townhouse projects over the past year.
Matthew Kandelaars (pictured above), Property Council group executive for policy and advocacy, expressed concern over the early figures.
“Few expected we’d be meeting our welcome and ambitious housing target from day one, but it’s doing its job by providing transparency about who is lagging and by how much,” Kandelaars said.
Kandelaars stressed the importance of maintaining momentum to avoid insurmountable challenges in the later stages of the initiative.
“If we don’t start as we intend to finish, we’ll be kicking into a gale at the final break – making the job near impossible,” Kandelaars said. “There’s no time to waste and we can’t afford to slip any further behind.”
The call to action is clear: the upcoming term of the federal parliament must focus sharply on enabling states and territories to effectively contribute to meeting the national target.
Kandelaars highlighted the necessity for reforms, including the reduction of taxes on new homes, cutting red tape to enhance productivity, and addressing the critical shortage of skilled labour.
“Our new home target is much more than an arbitrary number,” he said. “It is what’s needed to close the national housing supply shortage. It represents hard hats, steel caps, and getting Australian families into the homes they deserve.”
Read the Property Council media release.
