First Home Loan Deposit Scheme announced

Following the announcement of Keystart change at a state level, the federal government has also focused on assisting more first home buyers into the housing market with their election commitment to a First Home Loan Deposit Scheme.

The scheme, announced at the Liberal’s official campaign launch on Sunday, promises to support up to 10,000 first home buyers to access finance without having to save a 20% deposit. Eligible first home buyers will only need to save at least 5% deposit and will not be required to purchase lenders mortgage insurance. The federal government will guarantee the addition amount needed to reach the 20% threshold.

The Scheme is capped at an income level of $125,000 for singles and $200,000 for couples and is targeted at entry level properties with a maximum loan size to be determined on a regional basis. The Scheme can be accessed in conjunction with the First Home Super Saver Scheme (FHSSS) which commenced in July 2017 as well as state first home buyer grants and duty concessions.

Labor has said it will match this policy; however, they also stand by their proposed policy on negative gearing and Capital Gains tax regime changes.

Infrastructure WA reaches important milestone

The establishment of Infrastructure WA reached a key milestone last week with the Infrastructure Western Australia Bill 2019 passing the State Parliament’s Legislative Assembly. Subject to Parliamentary processes, it is anticipated that Infrastructure WA will formally commence in the third quarter of 2019.

Expressions of Interest are now being sought for Infrastructure WA Board members. More information about how to lodge an Expression of Interest is available here.

The Expression of Interest process closes at 5pm (WST) on Friday 31 May 2019. Please note, to be considered for a board position, candidates must apply through this EOI process.

An updated set of Frequently Asked Questions has been uploaded to the website and can be accessed at IWA FAQs.

Land Report this weekend

If you are looking for something to read that doesn’t involve the election, then don’t forget to grab your copy of The Land Report lift out in this weekend’s edition of The West Australian.  UDIA’s latest quarterly land sales data will feature in the lift out along with a range of editorial articles about issues relevant to the land development industry in WA.

UDIA driving strategic approach to water allocation & drainage challenges

UDIA WA CEO Tanya Steinbeck met with Water Corporation CEO, Pat Donovan and Director General of the Department of Water and Environmental Regulation, Mike Rowe on Tuesday to discuss taking a strategic approach to addressing industry challenges with water allocation and drainage.

Water allocation issues are particularly acute in the North East Corridor, with drainage dramas causing the industry headaches in the South East. Following on from a productive meeting of the Urban Development Advisory Committee with senior Water Corporation executives last week, UDIA will drive industry & government collaboration on a corridor basis to look not just at the immediate challenges, but the medium to long term issues developers will face as allocations dry up.

UDIA Urban Intelligence released

The latest monthly Urban Intelligence report was released to members on Tuesday. The report shows that while the official cash rate remains on hold, the discounted variable mortgage rate rose 5bps during the month to 5.37%.

Western Australia’s unemployment rate has also risen to 6.5%.  More positive news looking at Retail Turnover for WA which reached $2.8billion in March and the Wage price index is also up 0.3%.

More detailed information including a feature article dissecting the state budget economic figures is available to members here.

Vale David Donaldson

Former UDIA WA President and respected development industry professional David Donaldson passed away last week at the age of 88.

Mr Donaldson was President of UDIA WA from 1979-1980 and State Manager of Hooker Estates, which later became Australand.  He retired in the late 1980s after a distinguished career including involvement in the development of well-known suburbs across Perth including Bull Creek, Woodvale, Ballajura and Leeming.

Our sincere condolences to David’s family on his passing.

UDIA meets with the SAPPR Review Panel

UDIA and several developer members met with the SAPPR Review Panel this week to discuss possible funding arrangement should the Government decide to proceed with the Strategic Assessment for the Perth and Peel Regions. A wide range of issues and possible funding options were discussed and UDIA looks forward to further continuing these discussions with the Panel as funding options are refined.

DPLH Design WA Presentation to UDIA Land Use Planning and Housing Diversity Committees

On Monday, Department of Planning Lands and Heritage representatives provided a presentation to UDIA’s Land Use Planning and Housing Diversity Committees regarding the implementation of Design WA. UDIA greatly appreciates the update provided by the Department and the opportunity to further discuss industry concerns regarding the Design WA Framework and its implementation.

The Institute looks forward to continuing to work with the Department to ensure that the Design WA Framework delivers effective community and built environment outcomes.

Nature Link Perth

On Tuesday, UDIA met with Dr Jane Chambers of Nature Link Perth to discuss the newly launched initiative and the issues and challenges regarding the retention of biodiversity and the delivery of nature sensitive design across Perth. UDIA welcomes the initiative and its intention to connect a range of stakeholders to create an urban environment that is good for people and nature. UDIA looks forward to working with Perth Link to achieve this outcome.

Water Industry Night

New WAter Ways is hosting a Water Industry Night featuring presentations from Wadjuk Traditional owner Brendan Moore; Coterra Environment’s Rebecca Epworth and Calibre Group’s Wayne Edgeloe.

This free event aims to support Water Sensitive Urban Design champions and showcase approaches that can be replicated or learnt from to create lasting legacies.

More details and to RSVP here.

We value your feedback

UDIA is currently working on several submissions on behalf of members. We encourage you to forward any feedback on these items to policy@udiawa.com.au

Approved methods for mandatory reporting under the Waste Avoidance and Resource Recovery Regulations 2008 (here). Submissions close Monday 27 May, 2019.

Mandatory use of weighbridges to calculate leviable waste (here). Submissions close Wednesday 24 July, 2019.

The protocol droid and the smart pole…

In the movie Star Wars, C-3PO is a protocol droid, fluent in six million languages. In the real world, appliances and systems communicate using a wide variety of protocol languages across a broad range of communications platforms. Read our guest blog from Opticomm here.

Lending data released

According to the latest from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), the number of WA owner-occupier housing finance commitments (excluding refinancing) fell 16% over the March quarter to 9,235. This is 9% below figures for the same quarter in 2018 and the lowest recorded number of commitments for any quarter (since September 2002 quarter).

These disappointing figures come on the back of tightened finance conditions in response to the Financial Services Royal Commission on top of continued sluggish population growth.

Similarly, the value of lending to households for investment dwellings (excluding refinancing) in WA fell 15% in the March quarter to $615.07 million, 27% lower than at the same time the year prior.

The Wage Price Index is looking slightly more promising, in the March quarter, annual wage growth in Western Australia remained steady at 1.6% for the third consecutive quarter.

This is the strongest growth in wages seen since September 2016 (1.7%), but far short of the peak 4.8% annual wage growth seen in June 2012 and below the ten-year average growth rate of 2.8%.

April Crime Statistics

April saw an increase in burglaries across the metro area with no specific hot spots recorded. Burglaries were reported in Brabham, Burns Beach, Haynes, Kallaroo and Wellard with a burglary in Aveley capturing offenders on CCTV (click here to view).

Two stealing offences were reported in Alkimos, Baldivis (display home), Lakelands (display home), Burns Beach, Piara Waters and Kewdale with Damage reports is Parmelia, Port Kennedy and Armadale.

Illegal rubbish reports in Alkimos and Dudley Park resulted with offenders being located and removing rubbish from both sites. Report all crime and to reduce crime, click here.