New building approvals data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics today has once again painted a concerning picture of the nation鈥檚 housing crisis.
Master Builders Australia Chief Economist Shane Garrett said March was the worst month for new detached house approvals since July 2012 鈥 almost 12 years ago.
鈥淭here was a small gain (+1.9 per cent) in approvals for higher-density homes during the month, but we need to see more growth in this sector of the market.
鈥淭he results mean that just 161,500 new homes have been approved over the past year.鈥
Master Builders Australia CEO Denita Wawn added: 鈥淭hese figures stand in sharp contrast to the yearly target of 240,000 new homes under the National Housing Accord.
鈥淭he Accord takes effect in less than two months鈥 time, and if we are going to have any chance of meeting this target, we need to lift new home building by 50 per cent from current levels over the next five years.
鈥淒espite the will of governments to get home-building activity moving, there are still too many obstacles in our way.
鈥淐hronic tradie shortages, planning and licensing delays, draconian industrial relations changes, material cost inflation, inefficient regulation, unfeasible lending practices and risk allocation are making projects unsustainable.
鈥淲e have to make it easier to build new homes by bringing down the cost of construction. This must be a priority in the upcoming Federal Budget.鈥