HOUSING CRISIS IS A ‘PERFECT STORM’

Almost half of the 6,400 residents expected to move to the Byron Shire in the 20 years to 2036 have arrived in the past five, with real estate agents and town planners calling for urgent action as the region’s housing crisis worsens.

Byron Shire Council’s Residential Strategy 2041 report, approved in March 2024, reveals the region has the highest homeless population in the state, with 300 people without a permanent place to live.

The problem is compounded by rental vacancies below two per cent and a sharp decline in properties available for purchase in Byron Shire, with average monthly listings across the North Coast dropping from 14,000 a decade ago to 6,500 per month last year.

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In presenting Byron Shire’s Housing Options Paper late last year, Mayor Michael Lyon said the NSW Government had set Council a new target to deliver 4,522 homes for 8,590 people by 2041.

However, Nick Bordin, Principal of McGrath Lennox Head says it will be difficult to meet housing targets without activating ‘ready-to-go’ development sites, due to delays developers are facing with gaining approvals for construction.

“Developers are ready to start work but in many cases aren’t able to get construction certificates to create the lots that are already approved,” he said.

“The timeframe for already approved subdivisions to get to point of starting construction is years, and the wait for anything new is even longer.

“The housing crisis is real, with affordability issues on both the rental and sales front.

“Many of the homesites in approved developments that are being held-up are already sold to locals and first home buyers waiting to build a home.

“These delays have put pressure on the established housing market, escalating prices and keeping already limited supply at low levels.”

Principal of Byron Shire Real Estate Todd Buckland says a number of developers in the Shire are facing delays, despite having approvals in place and a waitlist of buyers ready to purchase land.

“Even developers who have checked every box required and gone above and beyond statutory requirements to ensure their project is environmentally sound are facing setbacks,” he said.

“The Northern Regional Planning Panel and Byron Shire Council are responsible for issuing approvals, but even after that process has been completed there have been instances of further hold ups.

“In some cases, we are seeing projects originally gazetted for development 10 years ago being stonewalled.

“The reality is, the longer we have to wait for new development, the more land values increase, and some people may miss their opportunity to remain a resident of the Byron Shire.”

Town planner Damian Chapelle of NDC says the housing crisis is a ‘perfect storm’ created by high demand and low supply, as well as roadblocks in planning legislation.

“Council reports show land prices have risen 76 per cent over the past five years, which has certainly exacerbated housing stress, but this is not the root cause of the problem,” he said.

“Put simply, we are in this position due to a severe imbalance between housing demand and supply. There has been a huge influx of residents, while new land release and housing density hasn’t kept pace with growth.”

To read about the Byron Shire Council’s Residential Strategy 2041 report, visit here.

For more Byron Bay news, click here.