|
NSW Government must ease the vacancy squeeze
Real Estate Institute of NSW President, Mrs Cristine Castle, said today that the NSW Government must urgently reduce its addiction to property taxes to prevent a looming shortage of rental properties across Sydney.
Releasing the REINSW Residential Property Management Survey Results for February 2006, Mrs Castle said the total Sydney vacancy rate of 2.1% is the lowest since July 2000 and the rate of 1.7% in middle Sydney is a strong indicator that rents will rise.
“Vacancy rates of less than two percent set off alarm bells in the rental market,” Mrs Castle said.
“They mean that demand is outstripping supply and that rents will rise.”
Mrs Castle said that low vacancy rates also mean that there is greater competition between would-be tenants to secure a property that they like.
Instead of a dozen houses or units being available in a given area there now may only be half that number to choose from and those that are available are often quickly snapped up and she warned that the situation may worsen with a slowdown in building approvals and fewer units in the construction pipeline.
As to the cause of the looming rental shortage, Mrs Castle said the vacancy squeeze is a direct result of the NSW Government’s poor property tax policies that have encouraged investors to look put their money elsewhere.
“What the NSW Government doesn’t understand is that fewer property investors means fewer properties to rent,” Mrs Castle said.
“The NSW Government’s recent tax policy blunders were a bitter pill to swallow and frankly mum and dad investors haven’t yet forgiven the Government for its unpopular tax decisions.”
“The swift imposition of additional property tax without any consideration of the long-term effects on people’s investment psyche, rental accommodation, employment, retirement asset planning and investment participation is politically short sighted.”
Mrs Castle said the NSW Government must urgently address ways of encouraging greater investment to stimulate the State’s economy, boost the construction industry and ensuring a growing stock of affordable housing.
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|