Lack of credit is slowing housing supply: Chris Johnson

EXPERT OBSERVATION

The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) data out today indicates significant reductions in the amount of lending for new homes.

The value of lending by dwelling investors in NSW has dropped by 30 percent between January 2018 and January 2019.

Over the same time span the number of owner occupier loans has dropped by 19 percent. These significant falls are clearly leading to a big slow-down in the supply of new homes in New South Wales.

When the investment slow-down is added to the big drop in housing approvals in NSW, where apartment approvals have dropped by 41 percent between January 2018 and January 2019, there is clearly a growing concern about the pipeline of new homes in the state.

APRA must now take action to help the flow of loans back to both owner occupiers and investors so the housing supply across Australia does not slow down to unsustainable levels.

It appears that the slow-down is even bigger in metropolitan Sydney but the NSW Department of Planning data is only up to September 2018. The Department indicates that in September 2018 the year to date approvals were 48,435 - well down on the 58,000 approvals at March 2017.

Whoever wins government in NSW on March 23 will need to look seriously at the likely pipeline of housing supply for the state and particularly for metropolitan Sydney. In the lead up to the election a number of politicians have raised concerns about over development with the result that planning has been suspended in a number of areas across Sydney. To stop planning for another year of so will have a dramatic impact of housing supply for Sydney’s growing population.

The Urban Taskforce believes that the next NSW Government must tackle the negative issues around the planning system and other economic constraints so that the new housing industry, and the 300,000 direct jobs that normally flow from the construction activities, are supported.

CHRIS JOHNSON is the Urban Taskforce CEO