Overview
- Grattan proposes allowing three-storey townhouses on all residential land in capital cities and up to six storeys near major transport, with compliant projects moving ahead on fast, permit‑free pathways.
- Institute modelling forecasts about 67,000 additional homes a year, rents roughly 12% lower over a decade, a median home about $100,000 cheaper, a long‑run GDP lift near $25 billion and lower transport emissions.
- The think tank argues existing state rezonings in NSW and Victoria will underdeliver without streamlined approvals, estimating only about one‑third of newly zoned capacity is commercially viable under current rules.
- Fresh October data show prices rising and heavier use of the 5% deposit guarantee (5,778 guarantees in the month), sharpening debate that demand‑side support is pushing up entry‑level values.
- Planners and builders warn that finance constraints, an approvals‑to‑completion backlog, quality risks and insurance concerns—highlighted in an insurer‑bank‑government roundtable on disaster exposure—could blunt outcomes.