Melbourne Property Think Tank 2023

Road to recovery? Navigating current challenges and opportunities facing the property industry.

Almost 200 leaders in the property industry came together in August to discuss emerging opportunities in the Australian and Melbourne property markets at Colin Biggers & Paisley's annual Property Think Tank. The event brought together industry experts, thought leaders, and key stakeholders to explore current challenges and opportunities affecting the property industry. This year's event was supported by key event partners, Cera Stribley, J2, SSKB, Urbis and Absolute Health & Performance donating generous door prizes.

The conversation was led by keynote speaker David Roberts, a leading economist from Macquarie Asset Management, who provided an update on the current economic state of play for the property industry, as well as providing his outlook on opportunities that lie ahead. In addition to well documented increases in construction costs and interest rates, David also spoke to the effect of population growth and generational change as being a driver for changes to housing preferences and typologies, including build-to-rent and other alternative developments.

The audience was then invited to hear from a panel comprised of experts with a range of perspectives, including Dom Cerantonio, Managing Principal and Co-Founder of Cera Stribley, Sarah Macklin, Director at Urbis, and David Scalzo, Managing Director of Perri Projects.

Moderated by David Passarella from Colin Biggers & Paisley, the panel delved into the event theme, 'Road to recovery? Navigating current challenges and opportunities facing the property industry', and tackled questions relating to:

• housing supply constraints and the opportunity for planning reforms in the industry;

• the impact of demographic shifts and immigration;

• the continued uptick in construction costs;

• opportunities for developers in the current climate; and

• innovative solutions to bridge the housing supply gap.

The clear takeaway from the discussion was that strong housing demand, robust employment numbers and a high cash rate are clearly causing high property prices, low vacancy rates and continued rent growth.

The panel also spoke to the efficacy of the Federal Government's recent announcement that it would provide $3.5 billion for the construction of 1.2 million additional homes across Australia over the next five years and, similarly, indications that the Victorian Government will implement a major overhaul of the Victorian planning system to reach their goal of constructing 1 million homes in established suburbs by 2050.

The solutions, according to the panel, are more targeted policy directed at increasing supply and planning reforms to allow more responsive and efficient development in a bid to address affordability.