Urban Development Institute of Australia NSW (UDIA) has expressed concern that today’s Australian Bureau of Statistics data shows NSW is continuing to lose ground on meeting its housing targets and falling further behind in building approvals.
The statistics released today revealed a decline of 4% in approvals of detached housing, which is even more alarming given it is the most feasible product to bring to market at the moment.
“Housing approvals are the lead indicator for future supply and we’re still yet to see the genuine turnaround that’s needed to kickstart housing supply,” said Stuart Ayres, CEO, UDIA NSW.
“With approvals still below where they were this time last year, we continue to have a clear indication more needs to be done to address the housing supply crisis we face in NSW,” said Stuart Ayres.
Today’s data shows another 12-month period of sliding approvals, revealing that approvals to October 2024 fell 10% across NSW compared to the year earlier to 42,200. This keeps new building approvals at 45% below the September 2016 peak, which aligns closely with the annual target for completions in NSW under the National Housing Accord of 75,600 new homes.
“A more than 20% decline in apartment approvals highlights weak feasibility, however a drop in the more feasible detached house is concerning,” said Stuart Ayres.
The recent formation of the Housing Delivery Authority is a welcome measure but the reality as shown in today’s building approvals, is that we have gone backwards in both apartments and detached housing.
While industry waits for further detail on the Housing Delivery Authority, we strongly encourage Government to empower it to unlock genuinely feasible housing growth opportunities, including those which can be serviced by industry quickly but are not on the Government’s radar.
While UDIA acknowledges that struggling approvals are equally a reflection of the current economic environment, the policy environment has an important role to support the industry and provide confidence to withstand the decline.
“Having pulled a number of policy levers to improve infill housing, the NSW Government must not lose sight of new greenfield communities and the enabling infrastructure they require. As today’s figures remind us, we need a wave of new housing projects to come online, across all housing types and in all parts of the state,” Stuart Ayres said.
Media Enquiries: Deanna Lane, Director of Media & Communications
UDIA NSW and National dlane@udiansw.com.au 0416 295 898