PROPERTY experts believe the Sunshine Coast is 2,000 homes short each year for our population, and this is driving record low vacancy rates of 0.4 per cent and growing homelessness. As a result, never have we seen so many desperate people looking for rental property due to the shortfall of supply. About 70 per cent of homes are owner occupied and about 30 per cent are rented.
More security for renters requires more rental supply, so there is more choice not less, and that means more housing supply.
Fixing the problem doesn’t mean throwing out good town planning – in fact, quite the opposite. Good town planning is required more than ever to support housing choices where new housing integrates with existing communities and there is diligent preservation of public open space and green spaces as well as enhancement of supporting infrastructure.
So where should the growth go? What should it look like? How do we get it right and provide rooves over people’s heads without compromising the amenity and environmental values of our area?
It’s right that those questions are answered by the community and are part of the dialogue about where the growth should go and how it is achieved.
I have a personal view that our railway towns, outside of flood plains, but each anchored with core services if designed right offer a lot of opportunities to grow more diverse housing stock while maintaining the amenity of town living. Others are advocating more granny flat or tiny house friendly options while others have said more senior-friendly housing would free up family-size houses as they downsize. Better transport infrastructure which connects people is essential wherever housing growth goes.
It’s not a one-size-fits-all response, but there are solutions when they are designed with transparency, about the size of the issue, and the barriers to timely and affordable construction of new housing and the community are involved in designing the solutions so there aren’t unintended consequences.
The rental crisis is real and one of the biggest crisis’ everyday people are facing at the moment – being unable to access rental properties and put a roof over their family’s head. This is an economic challenge, as it is stopping workers from moving into the area.
It is a mistake to simply blame the shortage on the recent spike in demand due to COVID and interstate migration. To fix the problem and safely put people into housing, you need to be honest about the size of the issue and the reasons why new housing supply compared to population growth has been falling for some time.
You can still protect lifestyle and the environment with good planning.
Let’s have the conversation about these issues so we can drive the right housing choices our community can be proud of.