Housing at crisis point

A REPORT into regional housing has identified Toowoomba as one of 87 local government areas considered a growth zone, with planning and affordability two of the key issues facing the housing market.

The Regional Australia Institute’s Foundations of Regional Housing report broke the nation’s housing markets into six clusters, with the Toowoomba LGA falling under the category of growth zone.

Characterised by a more affordable housing market around large metropolitan areas that have grown steadily, the report found house sales in growth zone LGAs have grown steadily over the past 20 years.

In terms of policy response to Toowoomba’s housing crisis, the Regional Australia Institute report found the challenges facing growth zone LGAs centred on planning for growth, and maintaining affordable housing for low-income, long term residents and key workers.

“Lower-income key workers, such as those in health and hospitality workers, can often be priced out of these markets,” the report warned.

“While more local land might be zoned as residential, state and local policy makers should consider policies that activate this land to be development ready.

“Local and state policy makers and local industry participants should also consider infill and brownfield sites that can be redeveloped into medium to higher density housing. Policymakers should also consider how to encourage a greater share of greenfield development that is medium to higher density dwelling construction.

“Ensuring this diversity in the local housing mix is especially important for affordability for key workers.”

Overall, the report found regional housing markets were being put under stress by a surge in popularity of areas outside the major capital cities, with regional Australia’s population exploding by 76,500 people per year in the decade to 2020. As a result, regional housing was often unaffordable in particular for low-income earners.

“Regional housing markets are troubled by limited new housing supply as a result of inadequacies in the planning system, variable and small-scale demand over time, long supply chains and the absence of economies of scale,” the report found.

“The result … is that regional housing is often unaffordable in particular for low-income earners.”