In a few months, Australia will start trying to build 1.2 million homes. Experts say lots needs to change firs

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In July, a race to build 1.2 million homes in five years begins. But the path ahead is already littered with significant obstacles.

But at the same time as the nation is talking about the desperate need to boost supply, the number of housing approvals is falling.

Professor Nicole Gurran, an urban planning researcher and policy analyst at the University of Sydney, said the lack of new projects comes down to the combination of high interest rates, supply chain issues and worker shortages pushing up material and labour costs respectively. Denita Wawn, the CEO of Master Builders Australia, says there's another issue compounding high interest rates and low levels of skilled workers.

"So of course, that developer went back to the council and said, 'Well, how many homes do I need to put on there where I don't tip over the substation upgrade?' and they said 10," Wawn says.Master Builders Australia CEO Denita Wawn wants issues around critical infrastructure costs resolved. Clearly, that ability – or lack thereof – of developers to make a profit on their building projects is a key factor in whether Australia will hit its housing target.

The federal government has offered states and territories a share of $3.5 billion to hit their housing targets, but Gurran says it needs to go far further than just incentives. A big part of the push for underwriting is coming from the Greens. They've been particularly vocal about increasing government involvement in housing, last week launching a policy that would see a public developer build 360,000 "good quality homes" in five years.

 

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