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$vuetify.icons.faPhone1300 650 620

Land prices a massive constraint on home building in Victoria

Media release

Land prices a massive constraint on home building in Victoria

Media release
“Over the last 25 years, the price of the typical new residential lot of land in Victoria has risen more than four times faster than construction costs,” stated HIA Executive Director Keith Ryan.

The HIA-Cotality Residential Land Report provides updated information on sales activity in 52 housing markets across Australia, including the six state capital cities.

“Since 2000, residential land prices in Melbourne have increased by more than 500 per cent, and more than 600 per cent across regional Victoria. Over the same period, construction costs and the price of skilled labour little more than doubled. The long-run escalation in housing costs has been driven overwhelmingly by land,” added Mr Ryan.

“The way governments release, service and tax land has embedded the cost of infrastructure, delays and planning decisions into land prices. Those costs are paid upfront, capitalised into land values and ultimately borne by new home buyers.

“The latest HIA-Cotality Residential Land Report, released this week, also shows the median price of residential land in Melbourne rose again in the September quarter to a near record high, up almost 10 per cent over the year and growing at more than three times the pace of consumer price inflation.

“It was easy over the last few years to lose sight of what has been the most pressing constraint on Victorian home building – everything has been under pressure since the pandemic.

“But the return of housing demand on the back of strong population growth and tight labour markets, together with a dearth of new apartment projects in recent years, is once again putting greater pressure on state pipelines of shovel-ready land.

“The shortage of shovel-ready land is central to solving the affordability challenge. 

“Without a healthy pipeline of shovel-ready land across both Melbourne and Victoria’s regions, along with all the associated infrastructure, fairly funded, the return of demand for new housing will be diverted into the established housing market, further driving up prices and worsening the affordability crisis,” concluded Mr Ryan.

Download our HIA-Cotality Residential Land Report

Residential Median Lot Value - Victoria

For more information please contact:

Keith Ryan

Executive Director - Victoria

Thomas Devitt

Senior Economist
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