Property Council Wants More Housing Support

Infrastructure is an important focus of any nation and Australia is no exception, with the 2013-14 Budget giving the country's infrastructural improvement significant investment.

However the Property Council of New South Wales has criticised the Budget for not offering enough support to the residential real estate industry.

The Property Council of New South Wales had released a statement reacting to some of the decisions made in the budget, which was announced on May 14.

Peter Verwer, Property Council chief executive, commented that the $24 billion allocated to a pipeline of infrastructure projects will boost productivity in Australia's cities and regions, however believes a number of other opportunities have been missed.

"The Budget offers no programs to improve housing affordability, despite the fact that housing construction is at a two decade low," said Mr Verwer.

"A true nation building strategy would link higher housing supply with stronger infrastructure spending. The government has only tackled half of the productivity and prosperity challenge."

Parts of the Budget announcements that did touch upon real estate in Australia included funding intended to help in housing the elderly, including a pilot program to assist them to downsize their home without affecting their pension," as part of a $3.7 billion Living Longer, Living Better package.