Reardon said the federal government had not yet added tradespeople to the priority list for migrant visas.
“This is a deep structural problem,” he said.
“There is a range of longer-term solutions, which does include the industry training more apprentices. But the industry would also like to be able to gain access to overseas skilled tradespeople.
“Any initiative to free up access to overseas labour will increase the capacity of the industry to build more homes.”
Rawnsley said despite the large number of stalled builds there were positive signs the backlog may soon ease.
“With housing prices now rising, strong population growth, and construction costs starting to stabilise, developers could be gaining more confidence to start housing projects,” he said.
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The latest data from the Urban Development Institute of Australia shows that the number of lots on the market is the lowest since 2006, with just 617 available as of March 31.
The number of lots on the market is 34 per cent less than last quarter and a 70 per cent drop compared to the same time last year.
Summit Developments senior development consultant Adrian Johnson said as WA continued to grapple with a chronic housing shortage coupled with a critically low rental vacancy rate, people were turning their interest to property development to see how they can capitalise on the conditions of this unprecedented market.
“The current market conditions present a prime opportunity to look at doing a development,” he said.
“We are short more than 10,000 houses on the market and about 5,000 rentals. A development project not only puts you in a position to make money and get ahead, we are also addressing this supply issue at the same.”
The supply shortfall was expected to continue well into 2025 with a 30,000 shortfall in housing supply forecast over the next five years.
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