From the CEO
Productivity. Sustainability. Liveability. These are the three core focus areas of the Albanese Government that we discussed this week in Canberra when we met with the Prime Minister’s senior advisors around the key issues facing the development sector in delivering housing supply over the coming years.
They line up very neatly with UDIA WA’s policy platform based around the themes of Economy, Environment and Liveability. Whilst we won’t go as far as touting Col Dutton as the next PM of Australia, this strategic focus to our advocacy has paid dividends in focusing our finite resources into the key priorities that will have the most meaningful impact to our members.
We also met with the Federal Ministers for Environment, Immigration, Skills & Training and senior advisors to the Minister for Housing and the Treasurer in a political speed dating session. What was clear was the collective willingness to engage with UDIA nationally on solving the housing supply and viability crisis that we are facing across the country. We are working closely with the Albanese Government on potential solutions to varied challenges we face across the PM’s three core focus areas.
This week, we also opened registrations for the UDIA National Congress to be held here in Perth in March 2023. This is Perth and Western Australia’s time to shine on the national stage and whilst we are still locking away more outstanding thought leaders, I encourage you to secure your place early. I truly believe we live in the best city in the country if not the world and I can’t wait to share it with our members around Australia.
National Congress Registrations Open
UDIA WA are delighted to announce registrations for the 2023 UDIA National Congress right here in Perth are now OPEN!
National media personality Narelda Jacobs will MC the event that will feature a huge line up of expert speakers including opening day keynote Mark Bouris AM and closing keynote Justin Langer AM.
Each year, UDIA’s National Congress is the pinnacle event for the development industry with a huge variety of speakers providing key insights as well as incredible networking opportunities with attendees from across the country.
With this year’s Congress set to be held in Perth, it provides the ideal occasion for our members and businesses in WA to take full advantage of the opportunities available.
To register and be part of the 2023 National Congress, click here. To view the program, click here and keep an eye out for more exciting speaker announcements in the coming days.
A big thanks to all of the 2023 UDIA National Congress sponsors including Presenting Partner NBN.
Final HIWA episode for the season
On Saturday, the final UDIA WA segment on Home in WA for 2022 went to air featuring the award winning The Rivergums by Cedar Woods.
The Rivergums recently won a Judges Award at the 2022 UDIA WA Awards for Excellence in recognition of the well-established estate’s quality development integrating schooling, parklands as well as residential homes into one of the most attractive estates in the southern corridor.
To view this episode, click here and to view all of our Home in WA segments, check out our YouTube channel, here.
UDIA WA has enjoyed being able to partner with Home in WA once again in 2022 in order to bring the fantastic work that our members do in delivering new and enhancing existing communities to a wide audience on Channel 7.
WAPC Strategic Plan released
UDIA WA have been informed by the Western Australian Planning Commission that at its meeting held 31 August 2022, the WAPC endorsed its Strategic Plan 2022-2025.
The Strategic Plan continues to identify the role of the WAPC, in terms of delivering the Government’s priorities in the following six focus areas:
- Jobs and Infrastructure.
- Liveable Communities.
- A Better Built Environment.
- Transparent, Equitable and Efficient Planning Processes.
- Environment and Natural Resources.
- Land and Finance Management.
A copy of the Strategic Plan 2022-2025 can be accessed here.
UDIA Policy Team in Action
It has been another busy week for the policy team as we progressed through some actionable items with the Climate Action Standing Advisory Group, with a key focus on education and advocacy.
On Wednesday the Built Form SAG met to continue important discussions around the extension of the Stamp Duty Rebate and Build to Rent Land Tax Exemption as well as considering ways to promote the positive attributes of apartment living to the wider community.
Shelter WA welcomes new CEO
UDIA WA Executive Manager of Communications & Engagement Gemma Osiejak was pleased to attend the welcome event for Shelter WA’s new CEO Kath Snell on Tuesday night featuring a keynote address from the Minister for Housing; Homelessness the Hon. John Carey.
The event was also an opportunity to farewell outgoing CEO Michelle McKenzie who has led the organisation through a growth phase over the last five years. Michelle was acknowledged for her tireless efforts in progressing issues in relation to affordable and social housing as well as tackling homelessness.
Kath Snell comes to Shelter with an extensive background in the not-for-profit sector and UDIA WA looks forward to further engaging with Kath and the team at Shelter WA in the new year.
The Urbanist soon to be released
UDIA WA are in the process of finalising the next edition of our quarterly thought-publication The Urbanist.
The new edition is set to be released next week and is set to focus on some of the themes and voices that will be heard at the 2023 UDIA National Congress.
The experts set to be featured in this edition include:
- Federal Minister for Housing, Homelessness and Small Business, the Hon. Julie Collins MP
- Mark Bouris AM
- Mark McCrindle
- Infrastructure WA CEO Phil Helberg
- Core Logic’s Eliza Owen
- Gavin Hegney
- And a profile on the 2022 Young Development Professional Winner Rachel Ezzard among a collection of other expert speakers.
UDIA WA will share a link to the latest edition when it is available and all previous editions can be read, here.
NAB lending more to affordable and specialist housing solutions
NAB has announced it has set a new target to lend at least a further $6 billion by 2029 to help more Australians access affordable and specialist housing.
Target areas include specialist disability accommodation, development of social and affordable housing projects, and access to finance for low-income earners and essential workers through Government-supported housing schemes.
The announcement follows the Federal Treasurer’s first Investor Roundtable meeting, which focused on promoting more investment in housing, particularly social and affordable housing.
NAB CEO Ross McEwan, who was invited to address the roundtable, said affordable housing was a significant and growing issue which could be better supported by banks and other finance providers.
To read the announcement in full and for more information, click here.
Winning the global war for talent
UDIA WA are pleased to present our first event of 2023 as we welcome Dr Abul Rizvi, former Deputy Secretary of the Department of Immigration and Special Advisor at Michelson Alexander to provide his unique insights into how Western Australia can attract the desperately needed construction industry skills to our shores.
Join us in this exclusive discussion covering:
- Population, demographic and migration trends for Western Australia
- Skilled temporary entrant trends in major WA construction occupations
- Population growth rates and demographics for key nations globally
- The key methods of recruiting skilled migrants
- Possible barriers to employer sponsored migration
To discuss the implications of migration policy on housing supply, industry leader Ben Lisle from Hesperia will review the key issues impacting the property industry in relation to skilled migration.
These presentations will be followed by a panel session facilitated by Tiffany Allen, CEO – Construction Training Fund, where Karen Ho, Director General of the Department of Training & Workforce Development will join the conversation to provide her insights into what the State Government are doing on the ground to build local skills capability and capacity in the sector.
To book in for this Industry Breakfast and share in the insights, click here.
Big thanks to Industry Partner DevelopmentWA and Event Sponsors Harley Dykstra and Construction Training Fund for supporting this event.
WA’s strong financial management endorsed by Moody’s
This week it was announced that Moody’s Investor Service has lifted WA’s credit rating outlook from AA1 ‘stable’ to ‘positive’
The lift in outlook follows Western Australia securing a credit rating upgrade from S&P Global in June this year, restoring the State’s AAA credit rating for the first time in nine years.
Moody’s observed that – despite significant stress emerging in the global economy – windfall gains, tight expenditure controls, and improving revenue diversification have maintained WA’s debt burden “at moderate levels, strengthening the State’s capacity to respond to future shocks”. The State’s successful management of the pandemic is also recognised.
Furthermore, Moody’s note “despite rising interest rates, the State’s debt affordability – as measured by interest expense as a percentage of revenue – is strong.”
The report highlights the possibility for further improvements in the State’s credit assessment, noting investments to address climate change and social housing in assessing the State’s ESG profile.
Understanding Overseas Migrant Dwelling Patterns
Property Advisory firm Charter Keck Cramer have released part 2 in its insights into Net Overseas Migration (NOM) and the impact that overseas migrants have had (and will continue to have) on various apartment sub-markets across Australian capital cities.
In this insight, Charter Keck Cramer has unpacked the ABS 2021 Census of Households and Population and explored overseas migrant dwelling patterns upon arriving in Australian cities. It also considers how these patterns change over time once these overseas migrants have settled into Australia. These dwelling patterns create opportunities for developers (and financiers) and it is important for all levels of Government to understand what is happening so they can appropriately respond to the demand for new dwellings created by NOM.
Whilst the focus of this insight is on the apartment markets across Australian capital cities, there are also important considerations for both the townhouse and the greenfield (house and land) markets from these figures.
Some of the key highlights from this research include:
- Renting. Around 70% of overseas migrants enter the rental market upon arriving in Australia. This is highest in Sydney (76% renters) and lowest in Perth (62% renters). The rental market is acting as an initial outlet for many overseas migrants as they arrive and then begin to settle into the capital cities across Australia. Given NOM is returning much faster than anticipated, and at a time where there is a current chronic shortage of rental dwellings, it is no surprise that there is a rental crisis across all Australian capital cities at present.
- Apartments. Around 36% of migrants enter the apartment markets upon arriving in Australia. This is once again highest in Sydney (56% occupy apartments) and lowest in Perth (18% occupy apartments) and underscores the fact that Sydney is the most mature apartment market in Australia. Apartments are more affordable to rent or purchase than townhouses or detached houses, and are often located close to amenity and employment opportunities. These are also acting as an initial outlet for many migrants as they arrive and establish their lives across Australian cities.
- Houses. Around 49% of overseas migrants enter the detached housing markets upon arriving in Australia. This is highest in Perth (67% house occupiers) and lowest in Sydney (33% house occupiers). It is evident that many overseas migrants target detached housing as an aspirational housing type. Melbourne and Brisbane have large greenfield (house and land) markets which are catering to this demand, whilst Perth and Adelaide are simply more affordable housing markets than the east coast cities.
- Transition from renting to owning and from apartments and townhouses into the detached housing market. There is a consistent transition from renting into owning and from occupying apartments and townhouses into detached houses in the 20 years from the date of arrival. The greatest proportion of migrants make this transition between years 4-7 from arrival across all capital cities.
- Overseas-born vs Australian-born occupiers. For longer-term migrants living in Australia’s capital cities, they are +7% more likely to be occupying apartments (as renters or owners) when compared to their Australian-born counterparts. This is most pronounced in Sydney where overseas-born migrants are +10% more likely to be occupying apartments.
UDIA Online Access Code
UDIA WA are pleased to share the Corporate Accommodation Rate Code for our members to receive 15% off accommodation with Crown Perth.
To access the discounted rates simply book via the Crown Hotels website and quote our Corporate Access code urband3357 in the promotional code field to receive your negotiated corporate rate.
Full instructions can be found here and for more information and T&Cs, click here.