Dwelling completions in Sydney almost met former state government targets in the third quarter, but building was uneven across the city.
The McKell Institute's Quarterly Homes Monitor showed 5,559 dwelling completions for the third quarter, a result just below the target of 5,825 new dwellings per quarter set by the former NSW Government's Sydney 2036 Metropolitan Strategy. Institute executive director Peter Bentley said the surge in home building could help ease affordability in the city.
"It's no secret that Sydney's housing affordability is among the very worst in the world. One of the keys to improving Sydney's housing affordability is increasing our housing supply," Bentley said.
Bentley said Melbourne was "streets ahead" of Sydney in terms of new home starts, leading to more affordable median house prices and rents.
In spite of the improvement, Bentley said there was disparity in new home starts across Sydney's regions. While the Inner West and CBD saw strong numbers, the city's South West, East and Inner North fell short of targets, with the South West and Inner North falling 35% below their goals.
"Taking a wider view, since 2006, only Eastern Sydney and Sydney’s North have met or exceeded their Sydney 2036 targets, with every other region falling short. The South West is a perennial underperformer – falling 65% short of its target over this longer period. The Inner North and North West also languish a long way behind," McKell Institute fellow Sean Macken said.
