“I don’t think the budget recognises the scale of the problem that we have with housing and homelessness. I think all the initiatives should be applauded, but they don’t go far enough.”
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“The issue is that the massive budget surplus provided a great opportunity to address levels of disadvantage in the community that are escalating and it hasn’t done that,” he said.
Glasson said there was a shortage of housing and so the investments into creating more were positive, but did nothing to help those who had little to no chance of being able to afford a house.
“While the budget will get more houses on the ground, which we should acknowledge, it doesn’t solve the problem for those people who will never have those houses as an option,” he said.
“The WA economy has done really well. We have done the hard yards during the pandemic and everyone should be able to reap the benefits. The people who are doing it toughest should have been at the front of the queue, but that hasn’t been the case.”
CEDA senior economist Cassandra Winzar said after a record spend on social housing in last year’s Budget, this year’s focused on incentivising the private sector to provide more affordable, higher density accommodation.
“These are positive moves, but given long construction time frames they will take some time to flow through to additional housing supply,” she said.
“There is little in the budget to address the current acute shortages and affordability concerns in the rental market.
“The new 50 per cent land tax concession will be introduced for build-to-rent developments from 2023. This will expand rental supply, but will take some time to have impact.”
She said the off-the-plan rebate would provide support to higher density development, which “has lagged behind single house development for some time.”
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The Real Estate Institute of WA has welcomed the housing supply and affordability measures outlined.
President Damian Collins said the positive outlook for the WA economy would see the current strong cycle for WA’s housing market continue.
“The measures announced [on Thursday] acknowledged the critical role of incentivising the private sector to deliver additional housing supply, both through new construction and innovative investment models,” Collins said.
But he also pointed out that rental shortage remained a significant challenge for WA, with vacancy rates across the state at or near record lows.
“The measures announced [in the budget] will help, however we expect it will take some time to work through the supply challenges the WA market faces,” he said.
WA budget to benefit property development, but leaves renters out in the cold
Source: Philippines Alive
