17 June 2013
The pre-budget announcement that the NSW Government will allocate $99 million to councils for local infrastructure will help boost housing supply, says the Urban Taskforce.
The mismatch between the cost of necessary infrastructure and the threshold of extra costs that affects the viability of new housing needs to be funded, says Urban Taskforce CEO, Chris Johnson. This is an excellent role for the State Government to provide the difference to ensure that housing projects are economically feasible.
The extension of the First Home Buyers Grant of $15,000 for another 2 years is also good news as this will carry across the time the new planning system is being implemented.
While NSW housing is trending upwards, the Urban Taskforce is concerned that this is partly due to the tail end of Part 3A projects that began their planning process under the previous government.
Incentives to the housing industry like the Infrastructure Fund and the First Home Buyers Grant are essential to keep housing supply moving upwards.
