Housing shortage in Australia will only get worse

The Commonwealth Treasury estimates that 200,000 new homes are needed each year to meet demand, but only 160,000 are being built.

Westpac Bank also suggest that there is an annual shortfall of 40,000 homes. ANZ Bank says Australia currently is suffering from a shortfall of 200,000 homes and that will be 250,000 by 2010.

The RBA’s August 2009 Statement of Monetary Policy stated that “The number of housing starts is likely to remain at levels well below most estimates of underlying demand.” Glenn Stevens, governor of the Reserve Bank told a parliamentary inquiry last week that “we need more dwellings.”