REAL STATE - HIA welcomes 51,000 new homes plan

“The Housing Industry Association (HIA) welcomes the Commonwealth and Queensland Government’s announcement of more than $2 billion agreement to support the delivery of up to 51,000 new homes, including 20,000 exclusively for first home buyers across the state” said HIA Managing Director, Jocelyn Martin

“Under the agreement, more than 20,000 homes will be reserved for first home buyers, supported by a $2 billion Australian Government contribution, including $399 million in grants and $1.6 billion in concessional loans for essential infrastructure. The Queensland Government will match grant funding with a further $399 million investment.

“The announcement forms part of the Albanese Government’s commitment to work with states and territories to help deliver up to 100,000 homes for first-home buyers, with a focus on unlocking housing supply through targeted enabling infrastructure funding.”

Jocelyn said the recent announcement recognises that increasing housing supply is critical to improving affordability and one of the largest impediments to delivery of more housing faster, includes boosting funding for “key last mile’ trunk infrastructure.

“HIA has consistently called for targeted investment that unlocks land, accelerates delivery and supports industry to build at scale, and we welcome the Commonwealth’s continued focus on supply and work with State and Territory Governments to make this happen,” Jocelyn said.

“Builders often tell us that getting this key ‘last mile’ infrastructure is what holds many projects back from being delivered in a more-timely fashion, this recent announcement is a key plank in addressing that.”

HIA Executive Director Queensland, Michael Roberts, said builders across the state are ready to deliver more homes but continue to face constraints that delay projects and increase costs.

“Queensland builders are ready to deliver, but too many projects are slowed by infrastructure constraints and delays outside their control,” Michael said.

“Any investment that helps unlock land, bring forward essential services and get homes to market sooner will make a real difference for Queensland first-home buyers, and ease broader supply constraints.

“Getting the fundamentals right - land, infrastructure and approvals - is the key to improving housing affordability in Queensland.

“This welcome funding sends a clear signal to industry that governments are serious about boosting housing supply, and builders are ready to get on with the job of delivering more homes for Queenslanders.”