Majority of National Housing Conference delegates "somewhat pessimistic" about housing policy prospects
The National Housing Conference held in Adelaide this year from October 10 to November 1 saw over 800 people attend, with over 50% of delegates stating they were “somewhat pessimistic” about the prospects of significant housing policy over the next five years.
Generation X made up the bulk of attendees at 40%, while 26.5% of attendees were baby boomers, and 22.5% were part of Generation Y.
Conference topics discussed included: the roles of government and the not-for-profit sector in housing supply, urban renewal and the supply of affordable housing, as well as homelessness prevention through mainstream services.
Various questions were posed throughout the three-day conference with responses collected using an application.
Attendees mainly felt the two biggest issues in Australian housing today are:
- Clarity about the future roles of government and non-government sectors
- Blending public and private sector finance to achieve social objectives
They were also optimistic that the latter would see much progress in the next five years.
Additionally, 35% of conference delegates felt the biggest challenge for affordable housing in Australia is the undersupply of housing. The second biggest challenge was access to development finance, with 23.8% of delegates responding to that.
Mixed public and private funding was seen as the biggest opportunity for affordable housing in Australia, with over 50% of delegates agreeing with that statement. Growth of the not-for-profit sector was seen as the second most effective method for affordable housing to be more accessible.
Property Observer will speak to industry leaders, and look into some of these issues over the next few weeks.