The recently released 5 year targets for Sydney’s new housing supply do not take into account the current downturn in supply, says the Urban Taskforce.
“The NSW Department of Planning, Industry and Environment released updated housing targets for Metropolitan Sydney on May 17, 2019, but the figures did not reflect the current downturn in housing approvals.” said Chris Johnson, CEO Urban Taskforce. “The 5 year targets have not been updated for over 2 years, and while the explanatory notes claim ‘This high level of home construction comes on the back of strong housing approvals.’ the Department’s data on approvals says the opposite.”
“Housing approvals in Metropolitan Sydney were 58,776 in February 2017, but the most recent figures on the Housing Monitor site in September 2018 indicate a 10,000 homes drop to 48,435. For some reason the Department has not updated the monitor since September last year. Over this 7 month period the Australian Bureau of Statistics figures have shown even bigger drops in housing approvals.”
“The general feeling in the new home industry is that housing approvals and commencements will be very slow over the next few years. The slowdown has been driven by a tightening of credit to new home purchasers, a drop off in funds from China for investment housing, and a negative attitude to apartment buildings driven by politicians in the build up to the recent NSW state Election.”
“The Urban Taskforce is concerned that the NSW Department of Planning has updated future projections for new housing before they have updated the real approval numbers in Sydney over the last 7 months. It is important for all involved in the housing industry to have up to date, current information on housing approvals and completions as this information is the real measure of what will happen with the supply chain ahead.”
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