Half million house shortfall by 2020: HIA

Australia faces a housing shortfall of more than half a million homes by 2020 if construction rates continue at the same pace as the past 20 years, a report shows.
Population growth in the resource boom states of Western Australia and Queensland and continued growth in NSW and Victoria is expected to drive the shortage.
The nation will require around 1.6 million homes over the nine years to 2020, the Housing industry Association (HIA)-JELD-WEN Housing to 2020 report shows.
"But if we build at the average rate of the last 20 years, many areas of the country will have a critical housing shortage by 2020," HIA senior economist Andrew Harvey said.
"Under such a scenario, the cumulative national shortage could approach 500,900 dwellings."
Mr Harvey says substantial policy reform is required to ensure Australia begins reducing its shortage of homes.
In the absence of any sustained policy reform, NSW could reach a dwelling shortage of 155,700 by 2020, while WA faces a shortfall of 112,000 dwellings, the report shows.
Victoria may need to deal with a shortage of 104,200 dwellings and Queensland is looking at a shortfall of 91,800 homes.
But the projections are not as dire for the remaining states, with shortages of 24,600 dwellings in South Australia, 12,500 in the Northern Territory and 1,400 in the ACT.
Tasmania would be only state to reach a projected surplus of 1,300 houses by 2020.