Urgent action needed to double down on home building [Video]

Planning and zoning restrictions have made it tough to deliver on the number of homes we need in the right locations. But reforms alone won’t address the acute challenges that are contributing to persistent undersupply.

In the immediate term, unless we can ease construction capacity constraints and cost pressures, delivering enough new houses or apartments will be difficult and we will continue to see the housing and rental crisis worsen.

The residential construction industry has been challenged by capacity constraints and higher costs, and consequent tight housing supply is flowing through to both prices for existing homes and the rental market.

Rental vacancy rates are not far off record lows in most markets and rental prices have surged 42% across the capital cities and 41% in regional areas since the pandemic onset.

Over the past four years, rental vacancies have more than halved (-58%) across the capital cities and almost halved (-47%) in regional areas.

The data underscores a …