THE Property Council has welcomed the State Budget, which includes a range of initiatives to improve housing supply and affordability.
Property Council Queensland Executive Director Jess Caire said it was pleasing to see a housing-focused Budget that resisted the temptation to tax growth.
“Responding to the housing crisis is clearly a focus of this Budget, with significant spending allocated towards creating new supply, community housing and helping first home buyers get their foot in the door of the housing market,” Ms Caire said.
“The Property Council has advocated for many of these initiatives – most notably a state-based shared equity scheme, as well as investment in development enabling infrastructure.
“The $165m Boost to Buy scheme was an ask in our 2024 Be a Queenslander election campaign and an initiative that will help many Queenslanders realise the dream of home ownership.”
Ms Caire added that it was pleasing to see funding allocated towards development-enabling infrastructure via the Residential Activation Fund (RAF).
“Our research has shown the cost of providing infrastructure is one of the main impediments towards new housing development, and the $2 billion RAF will help unlock new housing supply,” she said.
“There is clearly huge demand for this funding, with applications for the first round of the RAF oversubscribed, and the Property Council looks forward to continuing to work with government to ensure this funding is allocated towards where it is most needed.”
Given the fiscal pressures, Ms Caire said it was a positive sign for the development industry that the Government had avoided the “lazy option” of taxing growth and development.
“With a third of the cost of building a new home comprised of government taxes, fees and charges, and 12 new or increased taxes imposed on the Queensland property sector since 2016, it is clear that taxing development is not the way to respond to our housing supply crisis,” she said.
“The focus now must turn to improving productivity so we can build the extra homes, businesses and infrastructure our growing communities need.”
