‘Decades of poor performance’ in dwelling construction is contributing to the housing affordability crisis, report says.
The Australian housing construction sector is only building half as many homes relative to the number of hours worked compared with 30 years ago, according to a new Productivity Commission report that calls for faster planning approvals and fewer regulations.
The report, released on Monday, finds “decades of poor performance” and falling productivity in dwelling construction has contributed to the housing affordability crisis and the sector has fallen “well behind the broader economy”.
The commission estimates that, using a simple measure (the number of new homes built compared with the number of hours worked in the sector), housing productivity has dropped 53% since 1995. In simple terms, that means that for the same output, fewer than half as many houses are being completed.
