2021-12-13 GC Agenda - Item 8 -Attachment 1 - Housing Needs Assessment

•     Examine the effectiveness of initiatives to improve housing supply in other jurisdictions and
      their appropriateness in an Australian context.
Many informed submissions have been made and to date several public hearing have occurred.
The Planning Institute of Australia has made the point in its submission that housing unaffordability
cannot be solved by more supply in the market. A focus only on maximizing supply would
compromise the value of planning in shaping productive, liveable and sustainable cities and towns.
A genuine conversation about housing affordability needs to address factors influencing
unaffordability, including the market demand drivers, tax setting and property development
practices.3
In Noosa Shire there’s been a noticeable increase in the number of dwelling houses and other
attached and semi-attached forms of housing being offered either frequently or sporadically for short-
term holiday letting. Conversely there has been increasing pressure on traditional holiday resorts to
accommodate permanent residents, particularly one and two person households who wish to
downsize into smaller accommodation due to lack of availability in traditional residential areas.
Most recently international travel has been curbed significantly due to the COVID19 global pandemic
and Australians have sought domestic lifestyle destinations. Ex-pats abroad have returned to live in
local properties and there’s been an exodus from capital cities for regional lifestyle areas, particularly
in Queensland
Noosa Shire has seen an increased demand for permanent accommodation with a large number of
properties changing ownership and many properties exiting the permanent rental market in favour
of owner occupiers. In general terms demand for housing and holiday rentals is far exceeding supply.
The federal government has sought to address the challenge for home buyers in a number of ways.
The Family Home Guarantee is designed to assist single parents secure a loan with a deposit of just
2%. First Home buyers are now able to access some of their superannuation for a home deposit.
These schemes may assist some individuals but will not reduce the demand or cost of housing, just
increases the number of people in the buying market. Economists have suggested such schemes
drive prices higher.
The COVID19 economic downturn led to a temporary HomeBuilder grant for individuals and couples
who built or bought a new home or substantially renovated an existing home that they would occupy.
This was probably of most relevance for major renovations in Noosa Shire as new housing stock is
limited and the renovation had to be $150,000 or more in value.
At the same time people chose to put money into their homes, stimulating the construction,
landscape and furnishings sectors. Waiting times for trade work increasing. Building materials, floor
covering, plumbing supplies, furnishings etc. are all increasing in cost and decreasing in availability.
The Urban Developer suggests that a construction supply crisis is affecting residential development
projects across the country as a critical shortage of building materials delays commencement and
completion of projects with cost blowouts along the way. COVID19 has led to increased shipping
costs and the 2019-20 bushfires through Australia depleted supplies of structural pine, used for
house framing.4
CoreLogic’s quarterly measure of residential construction costs reveals a national increase of 3.8%
was recorded in the three months to September 2021, outpacing the Consumer Price Index of 0.8%
for the same period. This is accredited to a surge in new builds and renovations coupled with supply
chain disruptions and a shortage of materials. The Cordell Construction Cost Index (CCCI), formerly
known as the Cordell Housing Index Price (CHIP), shows this is the largest quarterly increase since
Q3 2000, when construction costs increased 7.2% after the introduction of the GST. Queensland’s
CCCI increased 3.8% during the September quarter, taking its annual increase to 8.0%, the highest



3 Planning Institute Australia (Sept 2021) Submission to House of Representatives Inquiry on Contribution of

Tax & Regulation on Housing Affordability & Supply in Australia
4 The Urban Developer, 6 June 2021, “Home-building at Breaking Point




Noosa Housing Needs Assessment 2021                                                                Page 15