Urban Taskforce CEO, Tom Forrest, today welcomed the latest ABS data which shows that in the month of December 2022, the NSW planning system delivered almost 5,000 approvals for new dwellings. This is a good result. The NSW planning system was the stand-out in the month of December.
Today’s ABS data reveals a reversal in the performance on apartment approvals. Apartment approvals were up from a disastrous 1,111 in November 2022 to a solid 2,822 in December.
The strong performance in NSW in December reflects a renewed focus on housing supply and this is flowing through the Department of Planning and also those at Council level. But this result must be replicated and improved on. The 12 month data to December 2022 shows that NSW remains behind the 12 month results to December 2021 – with a reduction in overall annual approvals of 14.5% (12 months to Dec 2021 = 62,334 12 months to Dec 2021 = 53,293 representing a reduction in approvals on 9,041).
Table 1 below shows the extent of the challenge ahead. The approvals in the years 2015-2017 were at the level that we need to get back to if we are to see improvements in housing affordability and lower levels of rent stress.
Click here to read the release in full
