Urban Development Institute Australia discusses housing affordability in Wollongong

Illawarra property industry leaders met to discuss solutions to the housing affordability crisis on Thursday in Wollongong, with cash boosts a clear theme.

Urban Development Institute Australia (UDIA) brought together a panel of experts who called for change to planning policy around density and taxes, unlocking access to vacant land sooner, increased infrastructure and increased job opportunities around new developments.

UDIA CEO Steve Mann concluded the meeting by saying they will be lobbying the Greater Sydney Commission to involve more focus on the regions outside of Sydney, such as the Illawarra, as Sydney planning has significant flow-on effects.

Increased funding to help the Illawarra cope with a rapidly growing population, many who have been pushed out of Sydney, was on the wishlist.

Wollongong Lord Mayor Gordon Bradbery said the city was “heading in the right direction” in addressing the crisis with major land releases in West Dapto and Tallawarra, and allowing higher density developments.

However, he said the state government needed to come to the party with more money for infrastructure and would be “hammering them hard”.

“We need to remember the whole housing affordability issue is a multi-faceted thing,” Cr Bradbery said.

“We don’t want, as a council, to be spending our ratepayers money unevenly on the West Dapto urban land release to the neglect of the rest of the city.”

He said the NSW Government was “throwing money” at a development in Leppington which would only accommodate 23,000 people whereas West Dapto, which will accommodate twice as many, had received nothing.

“So often local governments gets the blame for this,” Cr Bradbery said.

“But we are having to work in the constraints of the planning system and also we need to remember Wollongong … is one of the most challenging areas to build, because you have a coastal flood plain … and flooring and inundation are really big issues.”

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Investment in social housing was another area Cr Bradbery felt higher governments needed to chip in on, with concerns over increased rates of homelessness.

Housing affordability is also at crisis point for renters just as much as those with a mortgage with many households under financial strain, according to the UDIA.

They put the Illawarra on par with Sydney, stating almost 45 per cent of household income was spent on a mortgage, while a third of income was allocated to rent.

MORE land slated for housing development to Sydney’s far south west