Home shortage deepens

On current trends, Australia is likely to  suffer an acute housing shortage within a decade.

That conclusion is reached in a new report produced by the Housing Industry Association.

It predicts that Australia could see a cumulative hshortage of  some 466,000 homes by 2020.

That is a grim figure.

There’s no secret, though, about the fact that the nation has been heading that way for years.

We simply haven’t been building enough new homes to house Australia’s rapidly growing population.

The consequences are all too predictable.

They include a tight rental market and a long term trend of rising house prices.2020.

Young families will suffer.

The situation is already bad.

The Association’s senior Economist, Mr Ben Phillips says Australia is already has a shortage of  109,000 homes.

“The reality in many regions and cities in Australia is that affordable, well located land is not available or abundant, ” Mr Phillips said.

He warned that more, planning restrictions, higher taxes labour shortages, and heavy  regulation  all added  to the problem.

“If we don’t get a comprehensive supply response to the accumulating housing shortage then the lack of affordable and appropriately located rental properties will only worsen, ” Mr Phillips said.

“A lack of skilled labour is an emerging threat to the much needed housing supply response,” he added.

“Current construction levels in most high demand areas are simply not sufficient to meet the needs of a fast growing population,” Mr Phillips said.