From the CEO
Today’s release of higher than expected inflation figures have all but guaranteed another interest rate rise when the RBA meets in February. This quarter will be one to watch as we start to see the real impact of mortgage rate increases hit the hip pockets of home owners around the country. For those of us in Perth, our pockets are emptying faster than our east coast friends with inflation at 8.3% – the second highest in the nation.
We have hit the ground running at UDIA in 2023, with a sharp focus on practical ways to help resolve our skills shortage in the construction sector. Check out my opinion piece in today’s edition of The West Australian where I talk about the chicken and egg situation we find ourselves in here in Perth where we need the workers to build houses but don’t have enough houses to accommodate the workers when they get here. Quite the conundrum.
To help work through the most practical and realistic solutions to resolve this wicked problem, we are bringing in an expert who has lived and breathed migration policy for years in Canberra as former Deputy Secretary of the Department of Immigration and now Special Advisor– Dr Abul Rizvi. If you haven’t yet booked your seat at our first breakfast of 2023, you should do so today. With a Migration Review about to be released in coming weeks, we are hopeful of a much needed overhaul of the trade recognition process for migrants outside our traditional source countries of UK, Europe and North America.
With a rental vacancy rate the lowest in over 40 years at 0.6% and now just over 7,000 established homes on the market – all options need to be on the table so that Perth’s relative affordability compared to the rest of the country doesn’t become a distant memory.
UDIA WA launch new and improved member experience
UDIA WA’s new and improved Member Portal is now LIVE and available to ALL individuals who are an employee of a UDIA WA member organisation!
Simply click this link to access your login details.
The UDIA WA ‘member only’ section provides our members with exclusive access to the following content:
- Our new and improved Members Directory, which includes contact details for all of our current members
- Every edition of our thought-leadership magazine The Urbanist
- Every edition of monthly data publication Urban Intelligence
- Every edition of quarterly property market publication the Urban Development Index
- Our Diversity Toolkit – designed to guide members through developing a Diversity & Inclusion policy
- Our weekly Land Snapshot of land sales across Perth
- And much more!
The new UDIA WA member portal has been developed based on feedback from members and to ensure an enhanced member experience.
To access the new member portal, click here or contact udia@udiawa.com.au if you experience any issues.
New and improved Urban Intelligence for UDIA members
UDIA WA are pleased to release a new and improved version of our highly regarded monthly Urban Intelligence report to members. We have revamped the publication to ensure it has the most up to date, relevant information in an easy-to-read format.
The new look report still includes all the data and information that our members need on a regular basis to understand the current market, economy and broader indicators that impact on our industry.
This month’s report includes a feature article from UDIA WA & UDIA National Executive Manager Research Toby Adams on WA’s forward pipeline retracting in the face of record low rental vacancy levels.
To access the latest edition of Urban Intelligence, click here and login to our member portal.
If you have not already activated your member portal account, click here to reset your password.
Inflation up
Latest figures from the ABS have revealed annual inflation has hit a 32-year high of 7.8% nationally and 8.3% in Perth.
Perth’s quarterly rise was 3.6% higher than the previous month and was the highest of all Capital Cities, double that of Sydney in second place which recorded a 1.8% increase.
The largest contributor to WA’s large quarterly inflation increase was electricity costs which rose +527.2% due to electricity costs for most households returning to normal levels, as the impact of the Western Australian Government’s $400 Household Electricity Credit introduced in the previous quarter lessened.
The newer monthly, national inflation data showed a peak of 8.4 per cent in December — above the previous forecast peak of the Reserve Bank of Australia.
“This is the fourth consecutive quarter to show a rise greater than any seen since the introduction of the GST in 2000,” said ABS head of prices statistics Michelle Marquardt.
“The increase for the quarter was slightly higher than the quarterly movements for the September and June quarters last year (both 1.8 per cent).”
The higher than anticipated inflation figures will likely lead to the Reserve Bank of Australia raising interest rates once again at its February meeting.
Showcase your brand to a national audience
UDIA National Congress brings together delegates from across the country making it the ideal opportunity to showcase the best and brightest in WA.
From exhibition booth spaces to Awards for Excellence category sponsorships there are a variety of partnership opportunities available to choose from.
For more information and to obtain a Sponsorship Prospectus, reach out to Georgia Scott at gscott@udiawa.com.au
National Congress comes to Perth from 27-29 March with a star-studded line up including keynote speakers Mark Bouris AM, Justin Langer, Eliza Owen, Peter Calthorpe, Mark McCrindle and many more.
Visit the UDIA National Congress website to view the full program including all confirmed speakers and to register, click here.
Our thanks go to the 2023 National Congress Presenting Partner nbn® Australia for their support.
Western Power Land Development Process Review
Following on from engagement in late 2022, on Wednesday 25 January the Chair of UDIA WA’s Economic Committee and our Executive Director Strategy and Policy met with the Head of Customer Connection Services and the newly appointed Change Manager leading the review of Western Power’s land development process.
This project involves an assessment of the end-to-end process (from submission of the Design Information Package through to safe energisation of network assets) to understand the specific pain pints and to co-design an alternative process and quick win solutions.
UDIA reiterated the desire for an audit process, utilising/relying on the skills of external design houses to ensure design compliance and move quicker to DIP and DCR for clearances and titles.
UDIA will provide a response to the scope, including highlighting pain points and potential solutions, through our Infrastructure Strategic Advisory Committee and feed into further engagement workshops in March. The Western Power team is working to progress to approvals and implementation planning in April and May.
In the meantime, the re-established Land Development team (which is a dedicated team of 12 experienced professionals) has been working to clear the backlog and improve design timeframes. The Sales team has also been contacting customers regularly to establish their priorities to accelerate critical projects.
Certificate IV Course – Enrolments for February 2023 Intake Now Open
Enrolments for our next intake of the BSB40920 Certificate IV in Project Management Practice, Specialising in Property Development course are now open.
BSB40920 Certificate IV in Project Management Practice, Specialising in Property Development is the only nationally-recognised qualification of its kind that teaches the project management competencies unique to the property development industry.
The course has been written by UDIA NSW in partnership with its members and vocational education experts. The course teaches the critical skills of project management such as identifying project scope, managing time, cost and quality, contract negotiation, team engagement and stakeholder communication.
The qualification is delivered over 18 weeks through a blended method of online self-directed learning and regular tutorials. Upon achieving a competent result for all course units of competency, graduates will attain a BSB40920 Certificate IV in Project Management Practice, Specialising in Property Development issued by our RTO, McMillan.
For more information and to register your place, click here.