But industry insiders and experts have told ABC News a combination of planning delays, skilled labour shortages and land prices stands in the way of solving Australia’s housing crisis.<\/p>\n
The federal government has said its effort to build more homes is “bearing fruit”, with the Bureau of Statistics reporting a 12 per cent rise in dwelling approvals in September, up close to 30 per cent from a low point in February 2024.<\/p>\n
New home sales are up 20 per cent compared to the same time last year, according to the Housing Industry Association.<\/p>\n
Dig deeper into the housing crisis<\/p>\n
“We think what’s influenced that largely is a lot more confidence returning to the market,” HIA’s chief executive Jocelyn Martin said.<\/p>\n
“We are seeing some green shoots in markets such as Sydney and Melbourne, which have been lagging behind.”<\/p>\n
But calls for all levels of government to do more to boost higher-density development closer to city centres persist, with the hope that this could add thousands of new homes into the mix, and put downward pressure on home prices and rents.<\/p>\n
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A combination of planning delays, skilled labour shortages and land prices stands in the way of solving Australia’s housing crisis. (ABC News: John Gunn)<\/p>\n
Good tradies in short supply<\/p>\n
The uptick in building activity has ironically exacerbated what builders say is their biggest challenge: finding people to get the job done.<\/p>\n
The Housing Industry Association reports bricklayers are in the shortest supply, with tilers, carpenters and roofers close behind.<\/p>\n
Regional areas face more acute shortages than cities.<\/p>\n
That pushes up the time taken to build a house, as well as the price of site preparation trades, the latter jumping 8.4 per cent in the past 12 months.<\/p>\n
On a busy Edmondson Park building site on the south-west fringes of Sydney, McDonald Jones Homes supervisor Brian Skinner said business had picked up, with more than 600 homes currently under construction across Sydney and the neighbouring Hunter and Central Coast areas.<\/p>\n
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Brian Skinner says business has picked up. (ABC News: John Gunn)<\/p>\n
“Interest rates have dropped, there’s a bigger demand, more clients are starting to buy,” Mr Skinner said.Fixing housing prices could take a generation<\/a><\/p>\n It’s an inconvenient truth that a housing crisis that took a generation to create cannot be fixed easily.<\/p>\n “[But] every day, we’re on the search for more trades to keep up with the demand of the framing.”<\/p>\n Master Builders New South Wales chief executive Matthew Pollock said the workforce shortage was a “perennial problem” for the industry.<\/p>\n He said post-pandemic government incentives for tradies to take on apprentices had dried up, and the number of apprentices had dropped accordingly.<\/p>\n “If we’re going to build more homes, then we need more boots on the ground to do that,” Mr Pollock said.<\/p>\n “[We need] more investment into the workforce, particularly into pay and training, but also for employers to take apprentices on.”<\/p>\n Matthew Pollock says more investment into the workforce is needed to meet construction demand. (ABC News: John Gunn)<\/p>\n One of Mr Skinner’s subcontractors, carpenter Adrian Ardito, said his employer AusView had taken on more than 30 apprentices in his time with the business \u2014and among them, he was the only one who had completed his qualification.<\/p>\n “I feel like there’s not a lot of people who like doing this work,” Mr Ardito said.<\/p>\n Tackling the housing crisis<\/a><\/p>\n New home approvals are accelerating as the federal government pushes its signature housing policy, but construction industry leaders and analysts worry we will never have the tradies to build them.<\/p>\n McDonald Jones Homes chief executive Rob Douglas said the shortage of skilled labour should be addressed.<\/p>\n “[It is] still the number one issue that the building industry, not only in New South Wales but across Australia, needs to tackle,” he said.<\/p>\n “We need to make the barrier to entry for skilled labour into the country easier.”<\/p>\n Housing Industry Association chief executive Jocelyn Martin said there was one massive, and largely untapped, labour force on our shores already: women.<\/p>\n Jocelyn Martin says the construction industry needs to attract more women. (ABC News: Adam Kennedy)<\/p>\n “In a sector where you essentially are only attracting 50 per cent of the population, then inevitably you’re going to have a skills shortage,” Ms Martin said.<\/p>\n “We have to become more family-friendly.<\/p>\n “We’re competing against industries where you can work from home, where you can have flexible working hours \u2014 you can’t build a house from home.<\/p>\n “So we need a more modern approach, [and to educate women that] trades are one pathway, but design, planning, certification, we need all those skills as well.”<\/p>\n Paige Beynon is studying construction and learning the ropes from her dad, Scott. (ABC News: John Gunn)<\/p>\n ‘Land crisis’ adds to housing issues<\/p>\n The price of land is another obstacle to housing supply, one that is worsening with every passing day.<\/p>\n Ms Martin said Australia faced not only a housing crisis but “a land crisis”.<\/p>\n “Getting land to market will end up being one of the biggest reasons why we can’t deliver homes as quickly as we need,” she said.<\/p>\n “As an example, a house and land package in Western Sydney now is around $1.7 million and last year it was around $1.6 million \u2014 it’s really increased over the last 12 months.”<\/p>\n Melbourne activity centre maps<\/a><\/p>\n The government has released the first batch of maps revealing what a high-density future could look like for Melbourne residents.<\/p>\n Sydney builder Scott Beynon said many of his projects were profitable because he had bought land years ago, before land prices skyrocketed.<\/p>\n “The cost of the land, the cost of construction, a lot of them don’t add up,” he said.<\/p>\n “We’ve had clients that haven’t proceeded with projects because of the funding and there’s not a return that will satisfy the financiers to give a decent return on that project.<\/p>\n “You look at a lot of high-rise and medium-rise apartment buildings, they’re not coming to the construction phase because of the cost of the land and construction.”<\/p>\n Scott Beynon runs ProLine Building and has worked in the building industry for 37 years. (ABC News: Scott Beynon)<\/p>\n Planning reforms unlock higher-density developments<\/p>\n While “red tape” has long been another major complaint from the housing industry, governments appear to be starting to listen.<\/p>\n State government reforms in Victoria and New South Wales<\/a> this year have been applauded for speeding up development where it is in most demand.<\/p>\n Grattan Institute housing and economic security programme director Brendan Coates described it as a welcome shift in “the politics of housing”.<\/p>\n Loading…<\/p>\n “New South Wales and Victoria have unlocked the kind of high-density apartment buildings that we hope to see around transit hubs and other major commercial centres.<\/p>\n “Victoria in particular is allowing three-storey townhouses across much of the residential area of Melbourne,” he explained.<\/p>\n “We estimate that those reforms unlocked nearly a million additional potential homes in Sydney and 1.6 million in Melbourne, the equivalent to a third of the existing dwelling stock in Sydney and two-thirds in Melbourne.”<\/p>\n Brendan Coates says New South Wales and Victoria have unlocked high-density apartment regulations that will increase supply. (Scott Jewell, ABC News.)<\/p>\n Mr Coates has led the team behind a Grattan Institute report released on Thursday that calls for similar reform across the country.<\/p>\n The report recommends relaxing state and local government planning controls that prevent density, including adopting low- and mid-rise housing standards and reviewing systems for heritage and character controls in high-demand areas.<\/p>\n The NSW and Victorian reforms have faced backlash from some residents and councils.<\/p>\n But builders who spoke to the ABC said simplifying planning was key to unlocking more homes \u2014 before land prices spiral further.<\/p>\n McDonald Jones Homes’ Rob Douglas said planning laws needed greater consistency and transparency.<\/p>\n “From a project home builders’ stance, it’s very hard to add volume and add housing and solve the housing crisis when there are 27 different rules for 27 different councils,” he said. Rob Douglas says Australia needs to make it easier for skilled labourers to migrate into the country. (ABC News: Daniel Irvine)<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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