Councils not the housing villain as developers shelve construction

Victorian builders are now shelving more flats and townhouses than they are starting – despite being given the green light to press ahead by local councils.

Over the past year, a total of 18,156 apartments and townhouses were approved but not started, compared to 20,712 that commenced. Urban Development Institute of Australia chief executive Linda Allison said they supported the introduction of local housing targets, although she had not yet seen details. “It’s important that we know where future housing is earmarked to go,” she said.

University of Sydney professor of planning Nicole Gurran said that while targets were useful to ensure municipalities had adequate land zoned to accommodate projected housing need, they were not “magic”.“In Australia, since 98-99 per cent of all homes are built by the market, targets are just a standard way to ensure the planning system accommodates growth – the rest depends on market conditions,” she said.

Murray said the current lack of housing was not due to “pesky” councils blocking apartments but to an economic climate that made building apartments unprofitable for developers.“There is this hidden assumption that the market wants to build way more than it is. The reality is that we can’t make developers make less money,” he said.

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