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Despite welcoming the NSW government’s proposal to release surplus government land for affordable housing, the Property Council of Australia (PCA) said more could be done to maximise density around transport hubs.
Property Council acting NSW executive director Adina Cirson said “the first tranche of locations included in the pilot are well-considered and targeted, but it’s the critical [that] regions are included in future tranches”.
“The NSW government sits on vast swathes of land that could be released for development to keep key workers in their jobs and on the frontline,” she said.
Ms Cirson explained that as housing supply fails to match population growth, compounded by an inability to meet supply targets, it worsens housing affordability across the state. She added: “We are failing to match demand now and, based on current numbers, we will fail to provide our children with the homes they need to live secure lives.”
However, she believes “the NSW government needs to go further to maximise overall density around transport hubs across the state”. Unlocking this avenue of supply has, in her estimation, the ability to deliver network-wide efficiencies, improve agglomeration, transform accessibility and livability, and ultimately provide better place-based community outcomes.
“The NSW government should build on this pilot and set targets for higher-density housing around key transport hubs to make better use of existing infrastructure and take pressure out of the market,” she said.
She urged the government to “consider incorporating build-to-rent projects across key transport nodes [as it] provides a diverse housing solution that can deliver more rental market homes to the community while also delivering on the government’s ambition to increase the supply of affordable housing”.
“In order to unlock the full potential of this asset class, the NSW government should consider inclusion of build-to-rent within the pilot sites, and we look forward to discussing how this can best be done,” she said.
Ms Cirson concluded that “ultimately, the only way to ensure the affordability crisis doesn’t become an economic crisis is to increase housing supply”.
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