Official statistics suggest a new home must be built in Australia every few minutes to keep up with migration as new housing data paints a grim picture for people trying to get on the property ladder.
Australia’s population grew by 2.5 per cent to 26.97 million people in 2023, with net overseas migration accounting for 84 per cent of the growth, according to figures published by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) last month.
Dividing the net increase of 547,300 arrivals, by the average of 2.5 people per household, means 218,920 houses would have had to be built to accommodate the influx.
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That would be 600 homes built every day, or one every 2.4 minutes before taking natural population growth into account.
Home Affairs Minister Clare O’Neil has committed to halving net overseas migration by 2025, following a surge to 500,000 due to the return of international students and tourists post-pandemic.
However, The Australian reports that one economist fears the housing shortfall may even be an underestimation.
Housing Industry Association chief economist Tim Reardon said 120,000 new homes were needed to accommodate natural population growth and the replacement of ageing stock before migration was even taken into account, the outlet reports.
The revelation comes just days after the Albanese government paid states and territories $1 billion to turbocharge the construction of new homes under the Homes for Australia plan.
The investment aims to achieve the “ambitious” national target of building 1.2 million new, well-located homes over the next five years – or 240,000 per year.
Housing Minister Julie Collins said the funding would help deliver the “right infrastructure to get homes on the ground more quickly”.
However, opposition housing spokesperson Michael Sukkar told the paper: “Labor’s Big Australia shows no signs of slowing down and there’s no way enough homes can be built to accommodate these record levels of migration.”
CoreLogic’s July report on Monday also revealed the median cost of a home in Australia grew by $59,000 to $794,000 in 12 months.
The continued growth since February means average dwelling prices increased by eight per cent in the financial year 2023-2024.
“The persistent growth comes despite an array of downside risks including high rates, cost-of-living pressures, affordability challenges and tight credit policy,” CoreLogic’s research director Tim Lawless said.
In one example from the weekend, an uninhabitable home in Sydney’s inner west sold for $2.41 million, more than $400,000 above the reserve price, in what the agent described as the “craziest auction I have ever seen in real estate”.
Demand for homes was significantly impacted by above-average migration in Western Australia, Queensland and previously South Australia, Lawless said.
– with AAP
