Daily Buzz: Tuesday, 6 February

PropertyBuzz, your daily dose of property news.

Welcome to Property Buzz! I’m Juliet Helmke. Today is Tuesday, 06 February.

Queensland’s new housing plan revealed, home building falls back, and auctions start strong in February. 

Welcome to Property Buzz! Today is Tuesday, 06 February.

– The Queensland government has unveiled its long-awaited housing plan, Called Homes for Queenslanders, with new laws to govern renting and incentives to encourage development. The plan includes increased financial aid to renters and tenant protection laws.

– The rental changes include banning rent bidding, establishing a portable bond scheme, allowing renters to install safety modifications, requiring 48 hours notice for property entries and introducing a new code of conduct to govern the sector. The state noted that penalties will apply to agents who break the rental bidding rule and other “dodgy practices” identified by the code.

– The plan also earmarks $160 million in extra funding for more than 20 services to support Queensland renters, and doubles frontline support staff.

– The government is also prioritising getting new land to market to increase supply, devoting $350 million to an “Incentivising Infill Fund” for housing development, and creating a State Facilitated Development Team to fast track proposals.

Related housing development, the Australian Bureau of Statistics  reported a 9.5 per cent drop in new dwelling approvals in December 2023, with higher-density approvals declining by 22.4 per cent, raising alarm bells from housing and construction industry bodies from across the country.

– The Urban Development Institute of Australia stated that current monthly approvals are 34 per cent lower than the long-term average, marking the lowest total volume of approvals in a decade.

– ABS data also revealed a decrease in lending indicators for new builds, with a 5.6 per cent reduction in the total value of housing loans to owner-occupiers and a 1.3 per cent reduction in lending to property investors.

– The cost of building materials remains high, exacerbating the housing crisis, with Master Builders Australia CEO Denita Wawn calling for urgent action to increase the supply of new homes.

In the market for existing homes, the auction industry has kicked off February with a bang.

– Corelogic reported that the week ending 4 February 2024 saw a 26.4 per cent increase in auctions compared to the same time last year, marking the second-biggest start to the auction season since 2008.

– Melbourne had the highest number of auctions with 603 homes, a 46 per cent increase from the previous year, while Sydney reported a preliminary clearance rate of 76.3 per cent, the city’s highest since July 2023.

– CoreLogic suggests the next few weeks will indicate whether this strong start is a temporary surge or a sustainable trend.

That’s Property Buzz for today. 

See you again tomorrow, 07 February, for your daily dose of Property Buzz.”

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