“HIA has been seeking actions that can address Melbourne and Victoria’s land supply shortages for several years,” said Fiona Nield, HIA Executive Director, Victoria. 

“Over the next five years, Victoria is forecast to commence construction on almost 160,000 detached houses and almost 120,000 multi-unit dwellings. The Liberal/Nationals announcement today that it will free up an additional 150,000 new housing lots will go a long way to supporting these homes being delivered in an affordable way.

“The surge in home building has taken up much of the available land in the last two years, meaning action will be needed during the next term of government to avoid a severe shortage in the next three years.

HIA’s election imperatives call on an incoming government to: 

• Undertake a full review of land supply for the short, medium and long term
• Commence investigations on the potential expansion of Melbourne’s Urban Growth Boundary (UGB)
• Continue to publish annual land supply data, to confirm whether Melbourne has a minimum of 15 years zoned land and two years of ‘build-ready’ land in every growth corridor and major regional towns
• Identify and implement improvements to the ‘master planning’ approval process (i.e. PSPs) that can speed up delivery times to less than the current two to three years and ensure a whole of government approach to the delivery of land supply and 
• Appoint a Minister for Planning with responsibility for monitoring, managing and promoting planning requirements, and supporting land and housing supply in all forms.

“HIA’s latest data shows an unusually sharp rise in the price of residential land indicating the supply of land is not keeping up with new demand that has emerged during the pandemic,” said Ms Nield.

“Over the course of the pandemic, median lot prices in Melbourne increased by 33.3 per cent, while prices in regional Victoria are up by 64.9 per cent. These are not normal increases – they are among the fastest rates of increase in the last two decades.

“At the same time that prices have surged, the volume of lots being sold in Victoria has plummeted to multi-decade lows.

“Such a fall in sales in the face of such strong demand is indicative of a shortage of shovel ready land.

 “An adequate supply of land underpins better housing affordability. Current shortages are resulting in additional costs to new home buyers and if sustained, will see costs rise even further.

“It can take over a decade to bring unzoned land onto the market for housing – this is simply not fast enough.

“Addressing the processes that brings land to market, as has been announced today, can assist in increasing supply and stabilising land prices.

In addition to the Liberal/Nationals commitment to stamp duty cuts for first home buyers, these measures would help to support home ownership.

“With the Victorian state election just around the corner, it is critical that we see new policies adopted by all sides of politics to keep the residential building sector strong and support for home ownership,” concluded Ms Nield. 

Read HIA’s State Election Policy Imperatives

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