We all know Tasmania is facing a housing crisis – a lack of affordability and available residential stock is crippling our communities and impacting the ability of many people to have a roof over their heads each night.
SGS Economics & Planning Rental Affordability Index (RIA) data shows that rents in Greater Hobart have increased 69% since 2014, while in regional Tasmania average weekly rents have increased 70%. In the same time period, the average annual income has increased 68.9% in Greater Hobart and 62.1% in regional Tasmania.
The impact of the increase in cost of living (including energy, transport, groceries etc) not keeping pace with incomes is being felt across the region. The RIA for 2024 puts Greater Hobart renters who are single people on JobSeeker payments and single parents who are part-time workers and on benefits in the ‘extremely unaffordable’ category, spending 71% and 51% of their respective income on rent. Single pensioners are categorised as ‘severely unaffordable’ (44% of their income is spent on rent), while pensioner couples aren’t far behind on 37% – putting them in the ‘unaffordable’ category.
And these figures are based on the fact that they can at least secure a rental property. PropTrack’s latest rental figures show a sharp increase in rental demand in 2024, with a 67% increase in the average number of inquiries per rental listing across Hobart.
The State Government is proposing changes to the Urban Growth Boundary (UGB) in Southern Tasmania - changes that have the potential to see up to 9,770 additional dwellings in the fringes of Greater Hobart. It has also reconvened the Building and Construction Roundtable, which is a positive step towards more public and private collaboration, although this group should also include social and affordable housing providers.
Any increase in housing stock will be welcome news to those struggling to find a place to call home. We can and must do both development in outer suburban regional areas and infill development in our cities.
Our Greater Hobart Liveability Forum in October last year gathered a broad cross-section of representatives across the public and private sectors. The consensus in the room was that we need to increase the density and diversity of housing options across Greater Hobart – not just in the city areas. This was also a key theme of the Hobart City Council’s Housing Forum held in December.
Increasing urban density boosts the liveability of a region by creating community ‘neighbourhoods’ around amenities such as parks, shops, eateries and services – attracting a mix of demographic groups to build vibrant, diverse, inclusive and innovative cultures.
Interstate, the cost of medium density infill development outweighs the sale price achievable by anywhere from 2% (Sydney) to 25% (Perth). Given Tasmania’s island status, which increases transport costs for materials, a significant shortage of skilled workers in the building and construction industry, and a $100,000 drop in the state’s median house prices in the past two years, this gap has the potential to be even higher here.
Capital ultimately will flow to where it is able to get the greatest and fastest return, and unfortunately that isn’t in developments with greater density in Tasmania.
But who is responsible for identifying and addressing these issues to enable the opportunities for greater density to be unlocked?
We need to ensure there is clarity of oversight and accountability in planning and urban development outside of electoral cycles and across local government boundaries.
At this point in time there isn’t a clear ‘owner’ of Tasmania’s planning system and its various components. Responsibility is split across local and state government and, in some instances, across different state government agencies. Other Australian jurisdictions have an identifiable role, someone who has clear responsibility, whose job it is to ensure cohesion between policy and regulation.
In the absence of this, and noting the acute pressure on affordability and our housing system and the impact on the liveability of our region, we cannot afford to stand by and watch the Greater Hobart we all love slip further from our grasp. We need to see a collaborative approach that delivers new projects quickly and brings great and innovative developments to life that all of our community can celebrate.
Ensuring a better future for all of our residents will require a collaborative effort across all levels of government and the private and not-for-profit sectors.
The Committee is committed to playing a central role in bringing together these stakeholders to find a way forward for our region. We encourage everyone who wants to build a better future for Greater Hobart to join us by becoming a member – more information can be found here.
Keryn Nylander is Executive Director of the Committee for Greater Hobart
