The release of the Sydney Metropolitan Development Program April housing completion numbers demonstrates a strong result but much more supply is needed, says the Urban Taskforce.
“The 1,576 housing completions for Sydney in April bring the year to date new homes to 21,715 which is a good result,” says Urban Taskforce CEO, Chris Johnson. “This almost matches the total number of new homes produced last financial year of 22,750 with two months results still to come in.”
“With the Department of Planning and Environment indicating that 33,200 new homes are required in the Sydney area per year it looks like there will be shortfall in supply of 5,000-6,000 homes this financial year. Given the current housing affordability crisis, we need to do even more to boost housing supply if Sydney is going to retain its status as Australia’s premier global city. When the market is strong we should aim to exceed annual targets to balance the years when economic conditions deteriorate like from 2008 to 2011.”
“Planning Minister Rob Stokes has recently outlined his vision for Sydney as a great global city, comparable with London, New York, Singapore and Dubai. Of course, in order to reach that status Sydney needs to include much more density in areas well serviced by public transport. The new Sydney Metro line presents many opportunities to increase housing supply in easily accessible locations.’’
“The Urban Taskforce supports Minister Stokes vision for a bold pro-growth future for Sydney and the need to boost housing supply. With the proposed Greater Sydney Commission getting closer to realisation it appears that the government is setting the framework for a positive future for Sydney’s development.
“The Urban Taskforce also supports the NSW Minister for Finance, Dominic Perrottet’s call for governments to measure outputs and this is particularly so with housing supply. The Metropolitan Development Program is a good example of what Minister Perrottet is calling for.”
