Housing supply not keeping up with population growth: HIA

The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) has revealed that the country’s population grew by 651,200 people to a record high of 26.79 million, with net overseas migration being 26.3 per cent higher over the 2023 calendar year.

ABS head of demography Beidar Cho stated that net overseas migration drove 84 per cent of population growth, while natural increase accounted for the other 16 per cent.

Chief economist of the Housing Industry Association (HIA), Tim Reardon, said the building industry has “consistently argued for stable and reliable population growth”.

”The boom/bust cycles in migration seen over the pandemic period leads to undesirable economic, social, and business outcomes,” Reardon said.

“As the main determinant of population growth, the fluctuating nature of net overseas migration has a crucial impact on workforce participation numbers, national skills capacity, productivity and overall economic output.

“HIA supports a managed migration program that delivers adequate skilled migrants in construction and building professions and trades to meet Australia’s ongoing housing needs.”

Reardon warned that underlying housing demand will further add to housing and rental price pressures.

“HIA estimates that Australia’s future underlying housing demand sits above 200,000 homes per year. Unfortunately, only 172,725 dwellings were completed in the calendar year 2023,” he said.

“The stark demand/supply imbalance in new home building requires significant and swift policy action from all levels of government.

“Up to 50 per cent of a new house and land package is taxes, fees, and charges. Reducing these costs is necessary to deliver more homes.”

PropTrack senior economist Eleanor Creagh recently commented on the rising median house price two years on from the first interest rate hike in May 2022.

“While rising interest rates can lead to lower home prices as borrowing capacities reduce and affordability deteriorates, like the mid and late-2000s, we’re now seeing that there are many other factors that determine the outcome for house prices aside from interest rates,” Creagh said.

“Strong population growth, tight rental markets, home equity gains, low stock on market and an undersupply of new homes have offset the significant reduction in borrowing capacities and deterioration in affordability that came with substantial interest rate tightening.”

The data gathered between May 2022 and May 2024 revealed that nationally, median house prices grew by 6.2 per cent. Currently, the median value for a property across Australia is $784,000.

[RELATED: Median house prices continue to rise across much of Australia]

Adrian Suljanovic is a journalist at Broker Daily with more than two years experience reporting on all facets of the third party distribution channel.

Adrian has written for a range of business and finance titles including IFA, Investor Daily and Lawyer’s Weekly before joining the mortgages team in 2022.

He graduated from the University of Wollongong in 2021 gaining a Bachelor of Communication & Media with a major in Digital & Social Media.

E-mail Adrian at: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.