Locked Out: Fixing Tasmania's Land Supply Crisis finds Tasmania is the worst-performing state against the National Housing Accord. It built 2,456 homes last year against a target of 5,022, falling another 2,500 homes behind in a single year.

"Tasmania is building half the homes it needs, and the main reason is land," HIA Executive Director Tasmania Benjamin Price said.

"This isn't a failure of builders and it isn't a demand problem. It's a failure of a system that can't put a serviced block of land on the market."

The median residential block in Greater Hobart has gone from around $35,000 in 2001 to almost $300,000. Tasmanian lot prices have risen nine-fold over 25 years, against six-fold nationally, while construction costs rose three to four-fold.

"Everyone talks about building costs, which have gone up, but land has gone up far faster," Mr Price said.

"When prices are rising and sales are falling, that's not a demand surge, it's a supply shortage. And it means a generation of young Tasmanians are priced out before building work even starts."

The report finds land zoned for housing often can't be built on because there is no sewer, water or network capacity to connect it to, and the cost of fixing that is loaded onto buyers.

"In the middle of a housing crisis, the Government cannot tell you how much land is serviced, zoned and ready to build on. South Australia can, but we can't," Mr Price said.

"Land bounces between councils, the Planning Commission, TasWater, TasNetworks and the Land Titles Office. Nobody is in charge, nobody is accountable, and future homeowners pay for every delay."

PlanBuild Tasmania, announced nearly ten years ago, operates in just one of 29 councils, while its budget has blown out from $9.7 million to $12.8 million.

"South Australia has had a working statewide system since 2021. The Government should stop trying to reinvent the wheel," Mr Price said.

Even with the land, Tasmania doesn't have the workers. Meeting the housing target would need up to 27,900 residential workers, more than the state's entire construction workforce.

Locked Out sets out 15 reforms, including TasWater reform, local government amalgamations and a construction workforce strategy. HIA is calling on the Government to deliver five priorities within 12 months:

1. A public land supply dashboard, based on South Australia's model.
2. An Enabling Infrastructure Fund to service already-zoned land, based on Queensland's model.
3. Scrap PlanBuild and license a proven statewide portal.
4. Legislate Development Assessment Panels, with deemed approval when councils miss deadlines.
5. Adopt the Improving Residential Standards recommendations.

"Every year we wait, another 2,500 Tasmanian households miss out on a home," Mr Price said.

The full report is available here.

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