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The Real Estate Institute of NSW (REINSW) thinks so.
In fact, REINSW CEO Tim McKibbin said supply pressures facing Australia are currently so severe that a government inquiry was needed “yesterday”.
And though both state and federal governments campaigned on promises of alleviating housing pressures and have various measures in the pipeline, Mr McKibbin stressed the urgent need for action.
“The community is sick of all the talk on this issue. It’s time for action and this means government and industry working together now.”
That’s not to say the body is unsupportive of the government’s proposals. The REINSW has come out in favour of many of the government’s housing initiatives, such as the support for first home buyers offered under the Home Guarantee Scheme. But Mr McKibbin flagged the unanticipated return of overseas arrivals, on top of the supply crunch already being faced by residents, as a looming issue that must be addressed by “a major, fast-tracked supply action plan”.
“These demand-side impacts need to be balanced by supply-side solutions. Every aspiring first home owner and everyone who arrives on our shores needs and deserves a home, but these homes simply aren’t available,” Mr McKibbin said.
“Higher house prices and rents are an unavoidable market consequence of a housing shortfall, and without more social and affordable housing, increased homelessness is a catastrophic social consequence.”
According to Mr McKibbin, with a resumption in property price growth, many people aspiring to buy a home may feel their dreams are moving further out of reach.
“There is already evidence of prices beginning to rebound and we need to remember that the bull-run through the pandemic typically pushed median prices up between 20 per cent and 30 per cent, depending on the area,” Mr McKibbin said.
“The rebound in house prices is no surprise. The lack of supply is the primary enemy of affordability,” he added.
The body is therefore calling for “an immediate and expeditious inquiry into the inhibitors of supply,” as well as a “brutal action plan” to implement any recommendations that should come out of such an inquiry.
REINSW acknowledged that constructing the homes needed to fully address the supply crisis will not be a quick process. In the meantime, Mr McKibbin urged the government to focus on measures that would have a more immediate impact.
“Incentivising empty-nesters to move to more appropriate smaller dwellings will make better use of the existing homes in the market and this should be an absolute priority for government,” he said.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Juliet Helmke
Based in Sydney, Juliet Helmke has a broad range of reporting and editorial experience across the areas of business, technology, entertainment and the arts. She was formerly Senior Editor at The New York Observer.
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