The Australian Bureau of Statistics has identified 24,000 Sydney dwellings “inactive”.
Yet another reason to attend Housing Forum on Forum on Wed 7 August at NSW Parliament House Theatrette 6.30pm
Attend this Forum and hear how to fix our housing crisis without destroying Greater Sydney
When: Wednesday 7th August, 2024
Time: 6:30pm – 8:30pm
Venue: NSW Parliament House Theatrette, Macquarie Street, Sydney
The Theatrette is located near the front foyer within the NSW Parliament House. Proceed down a set of stairs and you will find it
BOOK HERE
Parliamentary Forum: Getting Housing Right: Why it matters?
MC: Joe O’Donoghue, Sydney commentator
Host: The Hon. Alister Henskens SC MP
Speakers:
Peter Sheridan – Heritage & Affordable Housing advocate
Michael Pascoe – Finance & Economic Commentator
Saul Deane – Urban Sustainability Campaigner
Sharon Veale – CEO & Partner GML Heritage
The Hon. Scott Farlow MLC – Shadow Planning Minister
The event is being organised by Save Greater Sydney Coalition (SGSC)
FOKE is a member of this community coalition
Here is the crux of the problem. We believe the empty houses is underreported by up to 100%. Why do people say there is nothing to be done when much of these homes are owned by foreign nationals and/or the result of money laundering.
Do the state and federal governments really want to just keep building more and more apartments that won’t house Australian residents, and in the process destroy our cities! It really is such a cop out.
Read full ABC News article by Millie Roberts and investigative reporter Amy Greenbank, 28 July, 2024. Read it HERE or below:
“The empty Sydney apartments sitting idle and unoccupied during a housing crisis”
Standing tall and looming over their neighbourhoods are apartment towers with no residents inside.
These ghost buildings paint a picture of development woes amid an ongoing housing crisis nationwide.
Estimates from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) suggest there are up to 140,000 “inactive” homes in Australia.
Dwellings are considered inactive when there are no signs of recent use.
In Sydney, there are about 24,000 vacant homes, according to a 2023 analysis by the ABS.
This week, the ABC tracked down the owners of empty Sydney houses to try and find out why they had been left unoccupied.
However, entire apartment blocks are also a piece of the puzzle.
We found out the stories behind five empty buildings, comprising 289 apartments, across three suburbs in Sydney.
Reliance on private sector ‘never going to work’
There are 43,000 privately-owned properties that remain vacant in NSW, according to the experimental ABS housing data.
Land law expert Cathy Sherry from Macquarie University told ABC News the “hundreds of thousands of dollars a year in capital gain” owners can make compared to charging rent, is part of the reason why so many homes are being left vacant.
She warned there was “no silver bullet” to solve the issue.
“The problem is that Australia has in the last 30 years, basically exclusively relied on the private sector to build our housing, and that was just never going to work,” Professor Sherry said.
Earlier this month, the NSW government announced hundreds of new affordable homes in North Eveleigh, Camperdown, Kellyville and Camden after an audit of public land.
It said more sites would be announced in the coming months, and the dwellings would be delivered in partnership with the private sector.
However, government-owned land in Camperdown near the CBD was sold the day prior to private developers with no requirement for any social or affordable housing to be built.
Nicole Gurran, an urban planner and policy analyst at the University of Sydney, said there had been a gradual increase in vacancies across the Australian housing stock over the last two decades.
The unoccupied dwelling rate in Greater Sydney from the last census was recorded at 8.3 per cent, compared to 7.7 in the 2016 census.
Professor Gurran said the issue was not a growing problem, but rather a consistent feature of the housing system.
“If it was going the other direction, if we’re seeing less vacancy in the housing stock … I think it would give us evidence that we’ve got a housing shortage,” she said.
“[It] tells us that the housing problem isn’t a shortage of dwellings, it’s a shortage of dwellings that are affordable and available for people on low and moderate incomes.”
‘Incentives and disincentives’ could address vacancy concerns
Vacant apartment blocks and towers can come down to development issues, ongoing works, or not having an occupation certificate yet to allow people to move in, Professor Gurran said.
“I think it’s very good that we’ve got a regulatory system that makes sure to the best of their ability that properties are safe and fit for habitation before they’re occupied.”
Director of group Australian Apartment Advocacy Samantha Reece agreed it isn’t a matter of supply, but rather of allocation.
She said she would like to see governments enforce a quota in new and vacant apartment blocks for social and essential worker housing, with incentives such as bonus height allowances or financial concessions for investors and developers.
“The federal government and each state government is being pressured by the development sector to allow for more apartments to be built,” Ms Reece said.
“From our perspective, anyone who is providing social housing is not a developer, because they’re focused on profits and they’re looking for the best premium properties with the premium land — that’s [the development sector’s] focus.”
Professor Gurran said there was also strategic opportunity in utilising apartment buildings awaiting redevelopment for temporary use such as crisis accommodation or transitional housing.
“You want to have all your financial incentives and disincentives operating, to encourage people to use housing for accommodating permanent residents,” she said.
In NSW, the Minns government has committed to delivering 377,000 new homes by 2029.
“If we … can get a cultural change in construction and development in Sydney, almost a change in the mentality in how cities grow, how towns take shape, then we can meet that target year-in-year-out in the years ahead,” Premier Chris Minns said.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-07-28/nsw-sydney-ghost-apartment-blocks-towers-vacant-homes/104132070