Despite a lot of talk by all sides of politics still nothing has been done to solve the housing affordability problem. One day the penny will drop that it is not the amount of land released but the cost of producing that land which is the problem. Especially taxes! No matter how much land is considered for release it is the cost of producing it that is the stumbling block. Put simply if you want to reduce the supply of affordable land – tax it and that is precisely what has been happening now for years. Release more land by all means whoever the authorities must stop the ever increasing charges and taxes which make development of new Greenfield sites prohibitive.

If this trend continues land will simply become too expensive and people will have to rent rather than own and we have noticed a large increase in investor demand for affordable housing in all areas. Another trend is for people will move to the regions where there is employment plus affordable housing and this is definitely a growing trend. Of course as land developers it makes no difference to us as every house needs a block of land whether the end product is rental or purchase however this will change the socio political environment which has in the past been pinned by unfettered home ownership.

Despite the GFC Monarch has had its biggest 2 years in its history and all signs are for this to continue. Meanwhile Monarch has sold a record amount of land since the beginning the year and with current trends it looks like this demand will continue. This is the result of our foresight to land bank over the past 10 to 20 years.