UDIA NSW calls on NSW Government to support great places to live, without impacting housing affordability
The draft Design & Place SEPP was officially released by the NSW Government today – drawing concern amongst developers according to UDIA NSW.
“If the SEPP has stayed the same as the original EIE, it would have crippled housing supply and been a disaster for housing affordability, when Sydney already has one of the most expensive housing markets in the world. I am pleased to see that the Government has undertaken the work to understand our concerns and made significant changes to the draft SEPP. There are still several areas where we have concerns and we look forward to engaging with the Government Architect and DPIE during the consultation, to resolve these outstanding issues, “said Steve Mann, CEO UDIA NSW.
However, the other aspects of the policy that still need to be resolved, is in its practical application, the introduction of the Urban Design Guide, changes to the Design Review process and the savings and transitional arrangements, which will all have impacts on supply and affordability.
UDIA’s Greenfield Land Supply Pipeline Report launched earlier this year showed that delays in infrastructure will see NSW fall 25,600 lots short of the government’s Intergenerational report for housing demand by the end of the decade and the growing gap between demand and supply is have a huge impact on housing affordability.
Apartments represent a lower cost entry point to home ownership, with significant and ongoing constraints impacting new greenfield housing supply, now is not the time to increase the costs of constructing new apartments. UDIA’s recent Apartment Supply Pipeline report showed that apartment completions have been falling by 50% over the last few years and are forecast to fall by more than half again, to 7,000 units in Financial Year 2022, when the Intergenerational Report calls for supply of 20,000 units each year.
Any new policy must not add to an already complex system, nor increase the cost of housing, at a time when housing affordability is such a deep problem and the development industry is seeking to recover from the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The Design & Place SEPP must support building more homes, create more jobs and by doing so, address the housing supply and affordability crisis, so that more people in NSW can achieve the dream of home ownership.
Government needs to introduce policies to accelerate housing supply and enabling infrastructure to unblock supply pipelines and deliver more housing choices and jobs into this crucial sector of the economy for NSW.
We will continue to work constructively with Government to make sure that process is functional, considers economic feasibility and incentivises good design outcomes to deliver a better policy for all, as we have done on the ADG” added Mr Mann.
ENDS
Media Enquiries:
Deanna Lane 0416 295 898 or dlane@udiansw.com.au.
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