The Housing Industry Association (HIA) for New South Wales (NSW) has commented on the changes made to the NSW State Budget.
The association praises and welcomes the initiatives to support new housing and believes that the current system is holding the industry back.
“HIA welcomes the initiatives to support new housing announced by the Treasurer as part of today’s NSW State Budget. Although these measures are modest, they build on existing reforms aimed at increasing housing supply.
“Facilitating the use of pre-fabrication and modern methods of construction, will foster greater innovation in the sector and assist with enhancing productivity.
“Improving dispute resolution processes is also desperately needed. The current processes are placing unnecessary strain on both builders and the homeowners. Funding in the Budget to develop a process that is clearer and much fairer for all parties involved is great news and long overdue.”
Brad Armitage, Executive Director, HIA NSW
HIA NSW also believes that the pre-sales finance guarantee will help more developments break ground. However, despite the positive impact that these changes will have on the sector, more needs to be done to improve feasibility.
“Feasibility remains a key barrier to housing delivery right across NSW, so the expansion of the Government’s pre-sales finance guarantee will help to get shovels in the ground for more projects much sooner. Funding for roads and infrastructure to unlock development particularly in Western Sydney is also welcomed.
“The Budget includes changes to the Foreign Investor Surcharge for Build to Rent and retirement villages. Whilst this will encourage more investment in these developments, broader changes are needed to promote greater investment and improve feasibility right across the housing sector.
“Today’s State Budget is a small step forward, but we still have a long way to go to get anywhere near to building the number of new homes needed to meet demand.”
Brad Armitage, Executive Director, HIA NSW
