The Reserve Bank of Australia’s decision to hold interest rates is a welcome reprieve to households as ABS data released today shows more bad news for Australia’s housing crisis with new home building approvals falling by 7.7 per cent in June said Master Builders Australia CEO Denita Wawn.
“We can already see the impact of interest rate rises exacerbating the housing crisis.”
“Attention needs to be turned to addressing the structural undersupply challenges of the housing market.
“The rental market is feeling the brunt of this pressure with higher-density home building approvals sinking by 21.0 per cent in June.
“New apartment and unit building is a key source of new supply for Australia’s rental market. These results come on top of last week’s figures showing that rental inflation has shot to its highest rate in 14 years.
“Sadly, the uptick in higher density approvals in May was short-lived with approvals returning to low levels since before the pandemic.
“Right now, many new home building projects are failing to get off the ground due to the combination of high costs and a declining investment appetite, inflamed by rising interest rates.
“We need to see governments working to make it easier for new projects to get the green light by kickstarting private investment and reducing development costs and delays.
“Taxes, regulations and the industrial relations environment all have an impact on the cost of construction.
“The building and construction industry continues to implore the Opposition and crossbench to pass the Housing Australia Future Fund legislation,” said Ms Wawn.
