REIA observes greater collaboration at Qld’s housing conference

The National Housing Conference in Brisbane brought together over 1,300 representatives for a three-day conference, ending Thursday (12 October).

The primary focus of this conference was addressing the housing crisis in Australia and seeking effective solutions.

This biennial event, spanning over two decades, is designed to foster unity among policymakers, service providers, researchers, planners, and various levels of government, all working towards enhancing housing outcomes.

Speaking to The Adviser at the conference, Real Estate Institute of Australia (REIA) president Hayden Groves noted a clear “willingness across sectors” for collaboration, which was evident through the diverse array of stakeholders present, including social housing providers, tenancy advocacy groups and the real estate industry.

Mr Groves said this shift towards collaboration was “pleasing” to witness.

“We all acknowledge that there’s a supply problem,” he said.

“But in addressing rental affordability, we need to try and stop biting the hand that feeds supply which of course is mum and dad, unsophisticated investors who supply nine out of 10 rental homes in Australia.”

The investor cohort has been doing “all the heavy lifting in supplying affordable rental accommodation in Australia”, however, disincentives such as changes to residential tenancy laws, land taxes and rent caps are setting the industry back.

He added government funding for “institutional investors” such as build-to-rent schemes and superannuation funds has further complicated the situation.

“We shouldn’t just do one of those things,” he said.

As a result of these challenges, rental prices have surged across the nation, with Brisbane now ranking as the second most expensive city for renting a unit, a position it shares with Canberra, according to Domain’s latest data.

At the same time, house prices have rebounded from the losses incurred at the end of 2022, and new records are expected by the year’s end, as indicated by CoreLogic’s projections.

The severity of the housing crisis is further underscored by statistics from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), estimating that around 122,000 people were homeless on census night.

Speaking at the conference, Minister for Housing Julie Collins acknowledged “the housing market is too difficult for many Australians to enter”.

She noted a staggering 46.7 per cent of low-income earners who rent spend more than 30 per cent of their weekly income on housing costs.

To address these issues, the government is pursuing reforms such as Help to Buy, expanding home guarantees, the Housing Australia Future Fund, rental reforms, and the New Homes Bonus.

Qld announces housing bill to unlock more land

At the same time, the Queensland government introduced a new bill that will unlock housing and land across the state as more than a thousand delegates gather to address the housing crisis.

The Queensland government has introduced fresh legislation to streamline housing development and unlock land supply.

The Housing Availability and Affordability (Planning and Other Legislation Amendment) Bill 2023, introduced to Parliament Wednesday (11 October), amends the Planning Act 2016 to improve the planning framework’s response to housing supply challenges.

The bill includes a raft of new measures to remove barriers and expedite the creation of more affordable and diverse homes.

The proposed changes include:

• New powers for the Planning Minister to acquire land or create easements to deliver critical infrastructure needed to unlock development.
• A new assessment pathway for development that is a state priority, such as infill and affordable housing.
• A new land use zone called the Urban Investigation Zone, enabling councils to better manage development in growth areas.
• Several other processes are set to be streamlined, including urban encroachment provisions and the minister’s directive powers for local planning schemes.

Additionally, the bill introduces amendments to other planning legislation to ensure maximum operational efficiency within the system.

Deputy Premier Steven Miles stated: “As the fastest growing state, we need to be able to pull new levers in the planning and development system to deliver more homes, faster.

“This Bill will support the implementation of ShapingSEQ 2023 – our blueprint for delivering 900,000 new homes needed in the south-east corner by 2046 to accommodate 2.2 million new residents.”

Queensland’s legislative reforms preceeds the Queensland government releasing the final ShapingSEQ 2023, which is intended to support housing growth in South-East Queensland.

[Related: Economist expect home values to reach new record in 2023]