Banks hold the key to dealing with Australia's burgeoning population, according to the author of a new report.
Projects are falling by the wayside as developers struggle to obtain finance, Bill Morris said, and this is contributing to the housing supply demand deficit.
"Are the banks listening, as they hold the key to this log jam?" he said.
The Midwood Queensland Investment Report, released yesterday, found that in the year to June 2009 Australia built 55,000 fewer homes than was needed to cope with current growth.
In the year to June 2009, work started on a total of 131,500 houses. During this year the population grew by 443,100 people.
The actual level of commencements only satisfied demand of 313,000 persons, with approximately 2.38 persons per household. Australia really needed to build 186,000 new homes, or 55,000 more homes than it actually built, Morris said.
"The estimated Australian population of 35 million by 2049 is up on previous Treasury estimates of 29 million, and reinforces prime minister Rudd's often stated preference for a 'big Australia'."
"The impact on housing has not been thought through. The recent boom in demand for accommodation is completely at odds with the low supply of new homes," Morris said.
"Land supply has been restrained by town planning preferences for 'infill' development, which increases land prices and acts against affordability. The market has been unable to supply suitably affordable accommodation because of escalating land prices, which are the largest component of housing."
At the 2006 Census rate of 2.38 persons per dwelling, an extra 440,000 persons will require 185,000 new dwellings annually. The HIA recently estimated only 142,000 dwellings will be built by mid-2010, rising to 166,000 in mid-2012.
