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Homes in Short Supply
07 Apr 10
Homes in Short Supply

Australia faces a housing affordability ''time bomb'' - primed by a dysfunctional planning system, a chronic undersupply of homes, and unrealistic expectations from buyers, according to the chief of one of the nation's largest homebuilders.

Stockland managing director Matthew Quinn, in a speech in Sydney, said Australia's current shortage of 200,000 homes and an annual shortfall of 60,000, would balloon to 800,000 by 2020, if no reforms were undertaken.

House prices in Australia climbed 13.6 per cent in 2009 alone after a decade in which they posted increases of about 170 per cent, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics. Residential real estate prices have soared as Australia's economy nears notching up two decades of growth without a pause.

Over the same period, Australia has lured more immigrants, adding to housing demand. The federal government's 2010 intergenerational report estimates Australia's population will swell to 35.9 million people by 2050 from its current level of 22 million.

Data out today, though, may offer some cause for optimism. The number of residential building construction projects begun in the final three months of 2009 jumped 15.1 per cent from the previous three months, its fastest pace since 2001, the Australian Bureau of Statistics reported.

Source: http://www.smh.com.au/business/property/australia-faces-housing-affordability-time-bomb-developer-20100317-qdii.html