Bosses warn housing crisis will hit business

The Sydney Chamber of Commerce yesterday called for a government inquiry into housing affordability, and for cuts to stamp duty, saying all indications showed the problem would be long term.

Affordable housing advocates National Shelter echoed the chamber's concerns and called on all levels of government to make it easier for low-income workers to get homes.

The head of the Sydney Chamber of Commerce, Patricia Forsythe, said the number of houses built in NSW dropped in the past year to 29,150, down from 48,065 in 2002-03, while Sydney's population continued to grow steadily.

The residential vacancy rate hit a record low of 1.2 per cent in March, driving rents up, she said.

"In the inner ring of Sydney suburbs it's at virtually zero. I think it's time for a government inquiry into housing affordability in the Sydney basin. The statistics are not suggesting that there will be any short-term shift."

Forcing low-income earners such as cleaners, shop assistants and hospitality workers to live further from the CBD would make Sydney a less attractive place for foreign investment, Ms Forsythe said.

"Businesses making the choice between expanding in Sydney or elsewhere will be less likely to choose Sydney," she said, calling for a cut in stamp duty.

National Shelter yesterday called for the creation of a senior federal minister for housing, urban and regional development and a national housing strategy aimed at reducing the level of housing stress over five years.

Housing stress, defined as having to pay more than 30 per cent of the household income in housing costs, affects 1.2 million Australian households, they said, up 20 per cent from 10 years ago.

National Shelter's spokesman, Adrian Pisarski, said the Government should introduce a national affordable rental incentive to give subsidies to super funds that invest in affordable housing.

A national indigenous housing strategy was also necessary to alleviate health, social and education problems affecting Aboriginal people.

The federal Minister for Community Services and Indigenous Affairs, Mal Brough, said the Government already had an indigenous housing strategy but that in many communities land tenure arrangements stymied home ownership. He blamed state governments for the lack of public housing stock.

The NSW Housing Minister, Matt Brown, said the State Government was spending more money on increasing community housing than any other state. He said that interest rates had risen eight times in a row under the Howard Government. "This has left working families of NSW struggling to pay their mortgages and put the housing market in crisis mode."

http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/bosses-warn-housing-crisis-will-hit-business/2007/04/23/1177180569494.html