Building Jobs Under Threat From Excessive Levies And Planning Backdowns

The recent boom in housing supply in Sydney is slowing rapidly due to excessive levies and planning changes says the Urban Taskforce.

“The development industry is a major provider of jobs in New South Wales, providing 400,000 direct jobs as well as generating huge employment in supporting industries and services,” says Urban Taskforce CEO Chris Johnson “But a recent survey of Urban Taskforce members indicates that the number of pre-sales for apartments has slowed down and this could have major impacts on employment, particularly in Sydney.”

“While the property industry is a huge driver of jobs in NSW it is the residential sector that represents 70 percent of these jobs. It is therefore critical to keep the supply of residential projects flowing at the levels the NSW Government has proposed. With 325,000 new homes required over 20 years according to the Greater Sydney Commission that translates to over 37,000 new homes a year. The peak in recent times has reached this figure but there is a worrying drop in approvals over recent months and there seems to be an even bigger drop in pre-sales of apartments.”

“There are a number of contributing factors to the slowing housing market. These include confusion over possible affordable housing levies, the raising of the cap on Section 94 infrastructure levies, the increase in the stamp duty from 4 to 8 percent in NSW for foreign investors which has turned them away and the restrictive policies of banks in lending to purchasers and to developers.”