Accountable delivery plan needed to address Queensland's housing crisis
The Real Estate Institute of Queensland (REIQ) is urging both political parties to address the worsening housing crisis and provide a clear delivery plan, ahead of next week’s state budget.
REIQ chief executive Antonia Mercorella (pictured) highlighted the dire state of Queensland’s housing market, nearly 20 months after the landmark Housing Summit, pointing to data that indicates a deepening crisis.
“The latest ABS data on our state’s building approvals, dwelling commencements and completion times does not tell a story of a state that’s headed towards housing recovery,” Mercorella said. “On the contrary, it appears Queensland is falling deeper into the housing crisis, and without some major systemic changes, it’s hard to see how we’ll claw our way out.”
Mercorella noted that building approvals, commencements, and completions remain below 35,000 new dwellings annually, far short of what’s needed to meet demand. She cited a 13.5% decline in private dwelling apartment approvals in the year to April 2024, a 7.4% drop in private sector dwelling commencements last year, and a 1.4% decline in completions. Social housing completions have hit historic lows, with more than 40,000 people on the state’s waitlist.
Mercorella also pointed to plummeting construction productivity, which she said continues to cost Queensland dearly.
“Queensland has the longest completion times for apartments in the country at 26 months,” she said. “Ten years ago, this was only 14 months.
“Due to soaring costs and poor productivity, the apartment market has skewed towards the upper end of the market, creating a ‘missing middle’ in housing product diversity. This is clearly demonstrated on the Gold Coast where developments catering to larger, luxury apartments with a correlating price tag of $1 million or above are now almost exclusively the norm.
“It’s easy to assume big government infrastructure projects worth $100 million-plus have little impact on residential housing, but our tradies are being absorbed by these projects which is affecting costs and productivity across the entire construction sector. It is now taking more than 50% longer to complete a house in Queensland than it did 10 years ago. This points to declining productivity in the sector.”
Mercorella said long-term vision is needed for Queensland housing, and urged both parties to provide an accountable delivery plan supported by necessary infrastructure and services. She stressed the importance of transparent monthly reporting against set KPIs to ensure added social housing represents additional supply.
She also urged the state government to focus on pathways to homeownership, noting that Queensland has the lowest homeownership rate in the country, and called for state-led initiatives to complement federal schemes and help aspiring buyers achieve homeownership.
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