Bill Woods is joined by Denita Wawn, CEO of Master Builders, who welcomes the recommendation by the Productivity Commission into the need for an independent review of the construction industry to identify reforms to boost productivity and improve affordability.

“We know that Australia needs to build at least 200,000 new homes every year to meet demand with it only met once this decade. Alarmingly, Master Builders’ forecasts that the next 3 years will fall significantly short of that 200,000 per annum figure with the forecasts indicating that it will not be reached until 2026”, said Mrs Wawn.

The Productivity Commission found that the $3 billion spent by governments on first home buyer grants works against improving affordability but also found that the main barrier to prevent the purchase of a home is saving for a deposit given that the average deposit required has more than doubled over 20 years.

Download this podcast here