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The Real Estate Institute of Australia (REIA) has welcomed the incoming federal cabinet and wasted no time in outlining the reasons housing should be the incoming group’s top priority.
REIA president Hayden Groves congratulated the new Minister for Housing, Homelessness, and Small Business, Julie Collins, and applauded the decision to elevate the role to a cabinet position.
“We welcome the appointed and are pleased – as expected – [that] housing has been elevated to a cabinet position. We also thank former shadow minister for housing and homelessness the Hon Jason Clare MP and congratulate him on his promotion to the Minister for Education,” Mr Groves said.
The industry representative used the moment to impress on the new cabinet the urgency of issues relating to housing and their importance to the communities that just elevated these politicians to power.
“Housing supply and affordability were a battleground issue in the federal election 2022 for young Australians in particular, and we must all rally around this critical issue”.
“NHFIC estimates household formation is across the board expected to exceed supply by 164,300 by 2024-2025, after some short-term relief this year and next, which will maintain pressure on affordability, particularly as interest rates increase,” Mr Groves noted.
“In my home state of Western Australia that is the estimated equivalent of 20,000 new homes needing to be built.”
Mr Groves emphasised that new action must be taken, and soon, saying that the tactics currently in play had obviously not addressed the issues.
“To deal effectively with housing supply and in turn affordability, we will need to unlock solutions to better utilise existing housing inventory to deal with the building and construction crisis so more new homes can be built, and look globally to find innovative practices.
“We will need to use every tool in both the state and federal government’s disposal and tackle economic productivity reforms that have been for too long put in the too hard basket,” he said.
The issues he would like to see enacted swiftly range from “a national, coordinated taskforce of Australian treasurers to start the conversation in earnest in relation to stamp duty reform, through to city and regional deals that have mandatory land release and supply targets built into them as part of the national plan for housing and homelessness”.
He added that REIA is hoping for a spot on the promised Housing Affordability and Supply Council.
According to Mr Groves, the incoming Housing Minister should expect to hear from the industry body in the coming days.
“REIA will be today writing to the new Minister for Housing and Homelessness outline the critical success factors and key next steps that must be taken to ensure the National Plan for Housing and Homelessness has teeth it so badly needs,” he said.
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