Harry Triguboff: High Rents in Sydney Will Push More People to Buy

Meriton Founder and Managing Director Harry Triguboff says rents in Sydney are so high it will push more people to buy instead, “I knew this would be the case, but because of high interest rates and higher building costs, it will take a little longer.”

Mr Triguboff says that rents are so high because very little is being built, as developers are deterred by the complicated planning system and the ever-rising construction costs, “There is always the fear that a certain number of units can’t be approved or the process itself will take forever. The certainty for the developers has been absent for years. Additionally, we have very few workers and costs are constantly rising, therefore many developers won’t build because they can’t achieve higher sales prices to cover the higher costs, and many who do build will go broke from this situation.”

To fix this, Mr Triguboff says changes must happen. “The state government must drop their charges and taxes, and the planning system must be fixed. The planning system has been an ongoing conversation within the industry but nothing has changed. The politicians run away from the developers to avoid controversy, and in doing so they fail to understand us and our problems. ”

He also insists that the government needs to bring in more migrants, who can be a stimulus for developers to build more and also contribute to more government income, “A target for migrants must be set and achieved, because they are good for the economy in general. But recently both the Federal and State governments imposed higher taxes by doubling the FIRB application fee, tripling foreign buyer stamp duty and doubling the foreign buyer land tax surcharge, which will only serve to deter them further.”

While happy with the progress of Government infrastructure projects, Mr Triguboff says housing should still remain the government’s number 1 focus as housing supply continues to drop. “Apartment production has already dropped from 30,400 in 2018 to 10,700. By 2024 the production will fall to just 4,500 units. But we at Meriton still build 2,000 per annum. We believe that common sense will prevail. And we are constantly building and leasing and selling a little. We are waiting for strong action.”