THE Mackay Regional Council has doubled concessions on infrastructure charges for new social housing to a full 100%, which will make it cheaper for builders to deliver more supply in a crunched rental market.
The boost to 100% is up to an existing cap of $500,000.
The Real Estate Institute of Queensland (REIQ) is applauding the Mackay Regional Council for doubling the region’s concession on infrastructure charges for new social housing.
“While it’s certainly not an isolated phenomenon, Mackay has generally faced slightly tighter vacancy rates than surrounding regional markets over the past five years and has not sat within a ‘healthy’ range of 2.6 to 3.5% since December 2018,” said Antonia Mercorella, CEO of the REIQ, which welcomed the Council’s move.
From March 2020 – the beginning of the pandemic – the vacancy rates for the Mackay region have held between 1.3% to as low as 0.5%, REIQ data shows.
Mercorella said the incentive is an exemplary way Councils could help attract new private investment in the regions and boost targeted housing supply.
She said that with an estimated apportionment of renters to owner occupiers in Mackay at around 28.6% or 12,269 persons, and a population that increases on average by 0.6% per year or almost 1,000 people, it was sensible to lure in supply.
“Incentivisation of supply tackles the problem head on, whereas slapping property investors with additional fees (like we’ve seen some other Council’s do amid the rental crisis) entirely misses the point.”
REIQ’s zone chair for Mackay, Allison Cunningham a 100% concession is “outstanding news”.
“We welcomed the opportunity to provide stakeholder feedback during the review of its general development policy.
“Given the need for diverse and quality housing supply, one recommendation we made was for the Council to consider whether the scope of the policy could be expanded to improve incentivisation for social and affordable housing in the region.
“It’s great to see local government playing an active role, rather than relying solely on the initiatives for social and affordable housing available at a state and federal level.”
