In the face of soaring house prices and plummeting rental vacancy rates, governments around Australia are introducing land-use planning reforms to allow for more townhouse and apartments to be built in our cities.
Evidence from New Zealand and elsewhere shows that these kinds of reforms can boost housing construction. But existing analytical tools make it difficult for policy makers to assess the impacts of these policy changes ahead of time.
Grattan’s 2025 report, More homes, better cities, outlines a new approach to evaluating planning changes, that better incorporates the commercial feasibility of new infill housing. In this presentation to the Australian Conference of Economist, our housing expert Matthew Bowes shows how better understanding the profitability of infill development would help policy makers better tackle Australia’s housing supply challenges.