Urban Taskforce make House of Reps submission

The Urban Taskforce, a non-profit organisation representing Australia's property developers and equity financiers, supports a diverse housing type to meet the needs of a multicultural society in its submission to the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Economics Inquiry into Home Ownership in Australia.

"A century ago, there were 4.5 people per household in Australia, currently there are 2.6 persons per household. The Australian Bureau of Statistics forecasts a drop to 2.5 people per household in the next 20 years. 

"The smaller household size and increasing mobility of the population means that there are an increasing number of families and households choosing to rent an apartment over buying a home. 

"Sydney has a lower proportion of households renting when compared to similar global cities around the world. In Berlin, 88% of households are renting, in London it is 41%, while in Sydney at the time of the 2011 Australian Bureau of Statistics Census, had 31% of households renting. 

"Sydney is becoming more like other cities in the world with a move from home ownership to rental housing. Clearly this needs an investor market to develop and build rental housing, which is mainly in the form of urban apartments. 

In the Urban Taskforce study 'Who lives in apartments?' 68% of the renters surveyed attribute affordability to the main reasons why they continue renting, followed by location convenience with 60%, and proximity to public transport links with 56%.

"Already more than 50% of residents of strata units in NSW are renting their home. This reflects the growing sentiment that it is actually desirable to live in an apartment or townhouses over a freestanding home. 

"Townhouses, apartments and other higher-density housing types should be encouraged in residential areas would help create a more diverse range of homes as well as increase general housing supply. Smaller lot sizes and less regulation to encourage innovative housing forms such as ‘Fonzie flats’ would also increase housing diversity. 

"The current Sydney Metropolitan Strategy ‘A Plan for Growing Sydney’ anticipates that Sydney will need an additional 664,000 new homes by 2031. This is approximately 33,200 homes per year. 

"According to the NSW Department of Planning & Environment’s Housing Completion and Housing Approval Monitors, in 2012-2013 only 20,339 homes were completed in the Sydney area, and in 2013-2014 only 22,750. This undersupply is resulting in escalating housing prices and financial difficult for the proportion of the population interested in purchasing their own homes. 

"The Urban Taskforce has encouraged the development of more apartments and around railway stations as a way to house the increasing population of Sydney."