Approvals high, housing completion rates much lower
Planning Institute says 'we need a much greater focus on what is preventing homes moving through the pipeline'.
GREATER focus on faster transition from planning approvals to housing completions must be a priority for governments, according to a new report.
New analysis by Gyde Consulting shows almost 60,000 townhouses and apartments are recorded as under construction in NSW but the rate at which that pipeline is translating into completed homes has fallen.
NSW is now completing around 40 townhouses and apartments annually for every 100 recorded as under construction, compared with around 70 per 100 between 2018 and 2020.
Jo McClellan, Planning Industry of Australia senior executive policy and advocacy, said the findings show why housing reform needs to look beyond planning approvals.
“Planning systems are approving more homes but the challenge for industry and governments is getting them all the way through to completion,” McClellan said
“A growing construction pipeline is only good news if we see a corresponding lift in completed homes. We need a much greater focus on what is preventing homes moving through the pipeline.”
The Unfinished Pipeline research highlights there is currently no reliable, consistent data across Australia that shows how much of the under-construction housing pipeline is progressing normally, how much has slowed or how much may have effectively stalled.
Gyde Consulting director Chris O’Dell said: “A bigger under-construction pipeline is not the outcome we are chasing. The outcome is completed homes.”
“We need to understand how much of the pipeline is genuinely progressing, how much has slowed or stalled, and what is stopping projects from reaching completion.
“That means working closely with the people delivering housing on the ground to build a clearer picture of what will actually be delivered, and when.”
Stuart Ayres, the Urban Development Institute of Australia NSW CEO, said: “You can’t live in an approval and now we see the time from construction to completion has also blown out.”
“Now more than ever we need focus on getting homes actually completed and keys in doors.
“With this dramatic slowdown in completions, the construction pipeline must be significantly enhanced or we will fall further behind our housing supply requirements.”
PIA said post-approval barriers can include infrastructure and utilities, project feasibility and finance, certification, construction costs and industry capacity.
“There is no single post approval bottleneck and that’s why governments need to identify and tackle the barriers that are stopping viable projects becoming completed homes,” McClellan said.
“The housing pipeline and the infrastructure pipeline need to move together.
“Governments need to know where housing will be delivered and when, so infrastructure investment can be prioritised and sequenced to support it.
“The goal must be more completed homes, in well serviced places where people can live well and communities can thrive.”
PIA and UDIA NSW are calling for a National Housing Evidence and Evaluation Framework to track how homes progress through the delivery pipeline, identify where and why delays occur and support good growth and better planning outcomes.
