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Staff Reporter
The most recent dwelling approval trend figures show supply is still well behind demand in NSW, Laing+Simmons has said.
“While [the] release of the latest Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) building approvals figures show dwelling approvals increased 5.4 per cent in July in New South Wales in seasonally adjusted terms, the trend estimate for the total number of dwelling units in the state has shown falls for seven months, declining 2.5 per cent in July,” the company said.
“The trend estimate for the number of private sector houses in New South Wales fell 0.7 per cent in July and has now fallen for five months.”
Laing+Simmons general manager Leanne Pilkington said the latest figures showed urgent action was required to address the undersupply of new houses.
“It’s no secret that the housing market is facing a challenging time. Economic uncertainty at a global level has filtered down to the local market and is having a slowing effect,” Ms Pilkington said.
“This slowdown is not only limited to transactional activity, but also to development activity. But the fact remains that, in terms of population growth, the need for an increase in residential development has never been greater.
“Around a third of Australians live in New South Wales and in 2010 the state recorded population growth of 1.2 per cent according to the ABS, largely in line with the national average.
“Natural population increase and net overseas migration continue to place pressure on the new housing market, which is failing to keep pace. government intervention is necessary and the timing has never been more important,” Ms Pilkington said.
“It’s all well and good for government to offer first homebuyers stamp duty incentives for off-the-plan purchases on lower priced stock, yet there is comparatively little new stock being developed that the benefits of the incentive program are not being maximised.
“In particular there seems to be a severe lack of stock under $600,000 in most Sydney suburbs, which is directly impacting the ability of first homebuyers to gain a foothold in the market.”
While Ms Pilkington's statements were limited to NSW, recent comments by a property analyst suggested that some states and territories, namely Victoria, South Australia, Tasmania and the Northern Territory, were facing an oversupply of housing.
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