James Smith’s Post

An interesting debate about housing supply vs property rights unfolding in the City of Port Phillip. The Age reporting on several cases where older blocks of flats are being consolidated and demolished, to be replaced with a single house or fewer dwellings than before. It's an interesting policy discussion, with me remaining on the side of not prohibiting consolidation or enforcing the retention of minimum dwelling numbers where someone is able to afford the site. Others have a different view: "Patrick Fensham, 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 Planning Institute of Australia’𝘴 𝘝𝘪𝘤𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘢𝘯 𝘥𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘮 𝘰𝘧 𝘴𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘭 𝘥𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘣𝘶𝘭𝘭𝘥𝘰𝘻𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘭𝘦 𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘣𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘭𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘩𝘪𝘣𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘴." What these cases also reveal is a phenomenon which will impact the supply of smaller-scale #development for some time yet. In short, higher multi-dwelling development costs are resulting in the underlying land value for many smaller sites being higher as a single residential dwelling than the the value a developer will pay. This means sites otherwise zoned for potentially incremental development, particularly in NRZ and GRZ, will in many cases remain or be redeveloped into single dwellings. 🤔𝗜 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝘀𝗲𝗲 𝗱𝘆𝗻𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗰 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗮𝗹𝘀𝗼 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗰𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗦𝗥𝗟 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀, 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗰𝘂𝗹𝗮𝗿𝗹𝘆 𝗮𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝘁𝗮𝘅𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗱𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹𝗼𝗽𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗯𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗯𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗺𝗼𝗼𝘁𝗲𝗱. https://lnkd.in/gchFB_Q3 Sophie Aubrey UDIA Victoria Department of Transport and Planning

Developing better standards for apartments, then increasing their supply by expanding use of the Residential Growth Zone will unlock more housing choices for Victorians and make better use of our infrastructure. The Business Council of Australia is calling for extensive rezoning across Melbourne and major regional towns to encourage more medium- and high-density housing to be built near infrastructure and services Annika Smethurst reports in The Age today - https://lnkd.in/gYcvEzec Making greater use of the existing Residential Growth Zone mechanism in areas near public transport and services would be a good start. And we should combine this with clearer standards and design guidance on low-rise apartments in the Victorian Planning Provisions. Check out 'Our Home Choices' from Infrastructure Victoria for more detailed evidence, analysis and policy recommendations - https://lnkd.in/eeaNi4rb #housing #choices #zoning #reform #infrastructure

One of the policy changes that Infrastructure Victoria can make to improve housing affordability and fairness is to ask for rental property investors to pay commercial property taxes. As a business activity it seems only fair they pay business taxes. The additional taxes can be used to fund more affordable housing and social housing infrastructure.

Last week, the Victorian Government released their draft statewide housing targets. In an ambitious target, 2,001,000 additional dwellings are proposed to be constructed between now and 2051 across Metropolitan Melbourne – being almost double the number of existing dwellings currently constructed in Metropolitan Melbourne.  While the draft housing targets are a welcome announcement for the property development industry, there is no clarity on how these targets will actually be met to ensure that this housing stock is constructed within these timeframes or the preferred typology and siting of the dwellings. The Government wants local councils to 'unlock space for more homes by proposing changes to local planning rules', with the intention of giving developers 'the confidence they need to get on and build'. Gadens Partners Andrea Towson and Brihony Boan, and Lawyer Anthony Tchakerian consider what gaps needs to be filled, to ensure these targets can be achieved. Read more: https://lnkd.in/gAC_BuNp #Auslaw #Housing If you found this insight article useful and you would like to subscribe to Gadens' updates, click here: https://lnkd.in/gwqNGne

My initial observations on the housing targets outlined in the draft housing target for local Councils in Victoria: - State Government doubles down on Greater Geelong (139,800) and City of Melbourne (134,000) to accommodate the largest amount for new houses by 2051. - Growth area Councils (Melton, Wyndham, Casey, Hume, Whittlesea, Mitchell and Cardinia) to play a major part in accommodating Melbourne's growth with a total of 645,000 new homes, reinforcing the continued need for investment. - Apart from Greater Geelong, appears to be a limited reliance on regional cities to accommodate future growth. - Social license for some middle suburban areas will become even more important with the likes of Stonnington (83% increase), Yarra (91%), Glen Eira (96%), Boroondara (90%) all expected to experience significant change in dwelling numbers by 2051. Understanding the needs of future residents as well as the needs for existing communities has never been more important.

The missing middle in inclusive residential-grade mid-rise apartments and townhouses is a challenge in Australia due to the lack of "inclusive policies" governing the use and sale of surplus land by the Federal, State and Local Governments across Australia Public Land suitable for residential use. In contrast, the Mayor of London mandates up to 50% of such land for affordable housing, resulting in over 30,000 affordable dwellings on surplus land sold off suitable for residential use. As a proven "Placemaker" with a track record of winning tenders for major urban projects, I have voluntarily set aside 30% to 50% for affordable housing, leading to above-average capital growth and long-term value retention in all my previous major urban projects with no mandatory requirements, just through my initiative and sense of "social responsibility." All my previous major urban projects have achieved above-average capital growth for decades and are tightly held. Also missing across Australia today is a fast-track solution, a fast-to-market solution instead of relying upon slow, inefficient custom construction methods with vast shortages of tradies, a more sustainable solution in advanced modular construction platforms built from Renewable plantation forest trees into Cross Laminated Timber construction with great design, detailing and finishes minimising expensive building materials waste going to landfills which is unsustainable. The Thrive Alliance's expertise is over 100,000 CLT major urban reference projects worldwide, all of which use Engineered wood in Cross-Laminated Timber construction. #Harropfactor #Placemaker #SocialResponsibility #Inclusiveness #residentialgrade #midrise #townhouses. #ThriveAlliance #AffordableHousing #CLT #SydneyHousingCrisis #fasttomarket #sustainability #ThriveConstruct #EssentialWorkers

The landscape of Australian housing is evolving with fascinating trends that reflect the changing preferences and challenges of today's market. Among these, we're seeing a notable shift towards owner-residency over investment in new housing loans, with a clear preference for existing homes among investors. Detached houses are rising in popularity at a pace that far exceeds that of attached dwellings, with townhouses leading the way in new construction for those seeking a blend of community and privacy. However, the journey to expanding our cities vertically with apartment complexes is met with significant barriers. High construction costs, rising interest rates, and a tight labour market, compounded by planning delays, are reshaping the development landscape. Melbourne is setting its sights on becoming a rental haven, advocating for policies that encourage less dwelling and car ownership in favor of increased rental options. This vision presents a unique set of opportunities and challenges within the rental market segment. Meanwhile, Western Australia is pioneering with relaxed planning laws, allowing homeowners to easily add small secondary homes on their properties. This innovative approach aims to address housing supply concerns in a practical and efficient manner.

This week I spoke to Gus McCubbing at The Australian Financial Review about how planning delays are impacting upon the supply of housing in Victoria. Whilst planning is only one part of addressing the critical housing shortage, it is important to shine a light on how slow the process can be. In an environment with higher interest rates and construction inflation, delays can be the difference between projects finishing or being abandoned mid way. Tim Gurner of GURNER™ Group who was also interviewed for this piece, estimates that less than half of the 51,000 new dwellings approved in Victoria last year will actually get built. This is despite the Victorian State Government targeting 80,000 new homes a year. We need a reformed planning system that is up to the task of making good decisions, on an increasing number of medium density projects, in much quicker timeframes. #housingcrisis #missingmiddle #betterplanning

Home builders and property developers make their money creating new dwellings for Australian households. If they get it right, they can make lots of money doing what they do. When they decide NOT to do what they do, you have to ask why. Why are the builders of major projects of housing or apartments walking away from their plans? Why are big companies who have spent years and millions of dollars planning a major project making the decision not to build? We’ve seen many instances recently. An example is the decision by AVJennings to abandon a major housing development near Caboolture in the outer northern suburbs of Greater Brisbane. This project would have added 3,500 new homes to an under-supplied market. Brisbane is a market with high demand and a serious shortage of homes. Why would a big developer with a proven track record and the capacity to deliver these kinds of projects make the very big decision to walk away from the project? The answer is: that it’s simply not viable. AVJennings said massive cost escalations – including the infrastructure charges imposed by local councils and their long delays in granting approvals – meant projects like this were no longer viable. The new construction code has added tens of thousands of dollars to the cost of building a house, in just the latest example of politicians imposing new policies which add massively to the cost of creating dwellings, at a time of extreme shortage. Terry Ryder, Australia’s Leading Independent Property Analyst, has had discussions with developers who say that the cost of creating big residential projects is so high, it’s not financially feasible to proceed. They would have to place such a high price on the end product that no one would be able to afford to buy the homes. This is true for high-rise apartment buildings as well as housing estates. It provides further confirmation that all the core problems in the housing industry – the dwelling shortage, deteriorating affordability and the rental crisis – are all caused by our elected representatives. #building #construction #buyersagent #realestate #property

A Personal Opinion, and not an Auckland Council opinion, on removing minimum sizes of living accommodation. One of the things I'm passionate about is the repurposing of existing building stock in a pragmatic way, using the Building Act provisions in a positive way to enable more housing. However, I also do not believe that a less than well thought out piece of proposed legislation like this does anything for us as a nation, nor anything positive for our people. A very experienced person in the residential real estate space offered their observations recently that I'd like to share with you. People with few other options in a market, are increasingly controlled by investors in rental properties, and are forced into a factory farming housing environment. Dressing the proposal with rhetoric about the free market dictating the success of the legislation or not, shows a short sighted and ill informed decision making process by the Minister and their advisors. Insinuating that moving from a frying pan to a fire as a good move for our people as an appropriate housing outcome is confusing aspiration and reality. The independent market led comments below are: Please read as I really want to help here, but I am not a big name yet, so nobody listens to me.....but this is what I do, and know more about it than anyone in NZ - We sell shoebox apartments for a living. "What we're doing is liberalising the rules so that people will build what the market demands. So, if there's no demand for 20 square metre shoebox apartments, they won't be built. Simple as that."(Chris Bishop) This is an issue because there is no understanding of how apartments under 40m2 are sold or how the finance system for apartments works—something we do every day. 1) Offshore off-the-plan purchasers are exempt; they do not buy what the market wants and only care about the numbers. They are not what the market wants as they are not owner-occupiers or live in this country.  Shoebox apartments have the best numbers by a country mile. 2) Owner-occupiers can't buy small apartments because, for 15 years now, the banks have not financed them, or if they do, they require 50% deposits. This means they won't be and can't be designed for the owner-occupier but for the investor. The objective is to make them small and compact and fit in as many people as possible so the highest rent can be paid. Shoebox apartments are loved by investors, especially accountants. They are great for retirement funds. Mine has over 25 just in our CBD because the returns are high.  Yes, my company sells these apartments, and me saying this goes against what is good for it, but 100% they are not good for our city or our country, and from a resident of over 20 years in our CBD, we can't let more of them be built. Just go visit Upper Hobson Street, as that is what it will create more of. My question is how can I get this knowledge into the hands of those who can make a difference? (You just did)