Sydney of all cities in Australia has the potential to make a legitimate claim as tracking towards Australia’s premier global city. This has not come from its planning system, which continues to be amongst the most challenged in Australia. It will continue materialise on the back of the most aggressive infrastructure led city shaping programme seen in any Australian city over the last 40 years.

Solve Property Group’s Chief Planner Gary White has shared his perspective in the following article.

The UK’s housing crisis is a well-documented issue, with increasing demand outstripping supply in both urban and rural areas. The pressure to provide affordable housing, coupled with a desire for sustainable and community-focused living spaces, has fuelled calls for a dedicated task force to steer urban growth: the New Towns Taskforce.

The State Planning Commission recently released their Draft Greater Adelaide Regional Plan 2051, which sets out a long-term vision for Greater Adelaide, detailing where people will live and work, how they will move around and where they will access services, and importantly presents recommendations for managing growth and adapting to changes in the community and urban environment. The Plan reflects a practical approach to managing growth while addressing housing, employment lands, and infrastructure challenges.

As Australia continues to face an escalating housing crisis, the debate frequently focuses on planning related barriers to much needed supply. Internally we have been discussing various urban growth models and are interested in the market impacts related to containment and densification.

Read our discussion paper here.

New population data released by the ABS shows a welcome downturn in population growth due to falls in both net overseas migration, and natural increase across most states. Interestingly, the massive growth in some states is a notable contrast to what is happening in the property market.

Read the full article for a look at the trends.

Earlier this week, the NSW Productivity and Equality Commission (PEC) released their 'Review of Housing Supply Challenges and Policy Options for New South Wales' report, addressing the critical housing supply shortage in New South Wales (NSW). It proposes a comprehensive plan to overcome barriers that hinder housing development and offers recommendations for boosting productivity and equality in the housing market. The report highlights current challenges, such as the construction sector's capacity issues, high costs, and economic feasibility concerns, and provides policy suggestions aimed at increasing housing supply quickly and sustainably.

The housing crisis continues to dominate our newsfeeds, and with new data highlighting that Australia is falling short of meeting the Housing Accord targets, it’s clear that action is required to speed up housing delivery. There is no one size fits all solution to such a complex challenge, diverse solutions are required to meet the changing needs of communities.

Whilst our focus has primarily been on greenfield developments, clients are exploring new high density options (i.e transport rich locations). So why aren’t we seeing more innovative concepts pushing the boundaries on efficient land use?

Solve Property Group’s Chief Planner, Gary White, was recently interviewed about the housing crisis and his perspective on Housing Now!’ call for the NSW Government to appoint a dedicated co-ordinator general to boost housing supply in the state.

It won’t surprise many of you that a new study has found Australia is set to fall short of the housing targets designed to address the nation’s affordability crisis. While there are a number of factors contributing to the undersupply of housing, recent findings released by the UDIA indicate that Australia is on track for it’s lowest approvals since 2012.

Housing Now! has just released a damning report showing that 55% of Greater Sydney LGA's would need to increase their housing contributions by more than 50% to even have a chance of hitting their housing targets.

Speaking on the matter, Former NSW State Government Chief Planner and our very own Gary White was quoted in the Daily Telegraph today referencing the practice of councils deliberately rejecting DAs knowing that courts will later overrule decisions, as a contributing factor to housing delivery challenges.

Our economic advisory work extends beyond analysis, to support you with evidence-based insights to identify opportunities and inform strategic decisions. With experience across both private sector and government, our team bring expertise in trend forecasting, understanding economic indicators and their implications, property research, modelling, and evaluating policy implications. We are here to help you navigate the complexities of the current economic landscape.

Solve Property Group’s Northern Rivers Housing Forum has been featured by Australian Property Investor Magazine.

An article by Craig Francis.

Marked by an ageing population and with a determination “not to be the Gold Coast”, the Northern Rivers region of New South Wales has found itself with an affordability problem, housing shortages, soaring rents and something of an identity crisis.

At the recent Northern Rivers Housing Forum held in Kingscliff, acclaimed demographer Bernard Salt AM, and Gary White, former Chief Planner for the Queensland NSW state governments and now Chief Planner at Solve Property Group, addressed some of the biggest issues confronting the region.

We recently hosted the Northern Rivers Housing Forum, an initiative aimed at tackling the housing crisis in the region. The forum brought together key stakeholders, counsellors, community leaders, and experts to discuss the housing challenges faced by communities in the region.

The forum highlighted the growing concern over housing affordability, availability, and delivery in the Northern Rivers area. A report completed by Solve Property Group found that housing affordability has significantly declined, with rental costs increasing in excess of 35-50% across the region, while the cost to service mortgages continues to grow. With limited options for affordable housing, the need for innovative strategies and collaborative efforts has become increasingly urgent.

The NSW Productivity Commission has warned in a new housing paper that Sydney is losing some 7,000 people aged 30 to 40 a year. “Sydney is at risk of becoming a city with no grandchildren if we don’t meaningfully address the housing crisis”. The paper found that between 2016 and 2021, Sydney lost twice as many people aged 30 to 40 as it gained. 35,000 came to Sydney, but 70,000 left. It also found that while Sydney has among the highest average wages in Australia, over recent years it has consistently lost population to other states and regional NSW. Approximately two out of every three departures are from the working-age population – that is, those aged between 25 and 64, it’s not only ‘grey nomads’ who leave Sydney.

Solve Property Group was asked to consider on the back of this housing paper, is there a disparity in dwelling sizes and household demographics? Here is a snapshot of our insights.

Housing Australia have now opened round one funding under the Housing Australia Future Fund Facility (HAFFF) and National Housing Accord Facility (NHAF). These Federal Government initiatives are focussed on improving housing outcomes for Australians and will collectively support the delivery of 20,000 new social and 20,000 new affordable homes across Australia over five years. The HAFF is a $10 billion investment fund, the income from which will provide disbursements used to deliver the Federal Government's housing commitment. The Application period for round one funding is from 15 January 2024 until 2:00pm (AEDT) on 22 March 2024.

Tweed Shire Council have released a Draft Options Paper, Growth Management and Housing Strategy. It acknowledges that the Tweed is the fastest growing LGA in NSW with an additional 31,182 persons projected in the next 20 years, reaching 128,333 persons by 2041. The Tweed is in a housing crisis, experiencing, as much of Australia is, housing not meeting community needs.

Sydney is on the path to become an exemplar global city, not because of any prowess around the planning system, but the potential that has been presented by one of the most significant infrastructure programs shaping future investment of any capital city in Australia over the last 10 years. As the past and first Chief Planner for the NSW Department of Planning and Environment this might be considered a surprise statement.

The Queensland State Government recently released their Draft South East Queensland Regional Plan 2023 Update for public consultation, signalling that South East Queensland’s recent strong growth is expected to continue over the coming decades.