The 2025 Sydney Property Think Tank brought together industry experts, policymakers and thought leaders for an evening of robust discussion on the future of Australia’s property market. Hosted by Colin Biggers & Paisley, and supported by partners including Boston Projects, Bright & Duggan, Macquarie Bank, and RSM Australia, the event focused on three core challenges: policy, pricing, and planning.

Keynote speaker Nerida Conisbee, Chief Economist at Ray White and Chair of the Construction Forecasting Council, provided a data-rich overview of the current market landscape. Despite recent interest rate cuts, high construction costs and a chronic housing shortage continue to hinder affordability and buyer confidence. Conisbee highlighted the growing disparity between supply and demand, pointing out that New South Wales alone needed over 57,000 new homes last year but delivered fewer than 46,000.

While prices remain strong in many regions—especially in Southeast Queensland and Perth—supply-side constraints are making homeownership increasingly out of reach. “Either house prices must rise to meet construction costs, or we need to find a way to build cheaper,” Conisbee stated, emphasising that declining affordability is being further exacerbated by planning delays and labour shortages.

The panel discussion, moderated by Colin Biggers & Paisley partner Leanne Walker, featured Nerida Conisbee alongside Jonathan Wolf (Centennial Property Group) and Matthew Daniel (Pacific Planning). Both Wolf and Daniel identified labour shortages, planning complexity, and infrastructure delays as critical bottlenecks in the industry.

Daniel made a strong case for cultural reform within the NSW planning system, criticising its "regulatory gatekeeping" culture. “Planners need to be facilitators, not blockers,” he remarked, advocating for planning professionals to receive foundational economics training to better understand the commercial realities of development.

Wolf echoed this sentiment, calling for urgent immigration reform to address skill shortages, particularly in the trades sector. He also warned that infrastructure projects are drawing talent away from residential construction, driving up wages and lowering productivity.

All panellists agreed that the current planning system lacks transparency and agility. Daniel shared how efforts to introduce more code-based, fast-track planning mechanisms had failed due to political resistance, leading to years of deficiency and bottlenecks in urban renewal.

However, there was optimism surrounding NSW’s new low- and mid-rise housing reforms. While still in their early stages, these changes could unlock significant new supply—if local resistance and infrastructure constraints are effectively managed. Modular construction and pattern book designs were also highlighted as promising solutions for reducing costs and streamlining delivery.

The discussion addressed the contentious issue of inclusionary zoning. While some questioned the concept, suggesting it could be viewed merely as a tax, the panellists largely concurred that the most effective approach to achieving affordability lies in increasing supply and minimising regulatory barriers, rather than imposing mandatory levies.

As Daniel expressed, “We do not reduce smoking by taxing cigarettes, and we will not increase housing supply by taxing developers.”

If there was a unifying message from the evening, it was this: Australia’s housing challenges are indeed solvable, but only if planning reform, migration policy, and investment certainty are collectively addressed.

• Streamlining planning systems to prioritise outcomes and merit-based assessments.

• Increasing skilled migration to meet construction demands.

• Embracing modular and standardised building solutions.

• Implementing meaningful tax reform to encourage foreign investment in housing.

• Empowering state and federal governments to support housing delivery through incentives and infrastructure funding.

While the short-term outlook remains challenging, there was cautious optimism regarding long-term opportunities. “Australia is a growth economy,” said Conisbee. “People want to live here, and the demand isn’t going away. We simply need to determine how to build quickly and affordably enough to keep pace.”

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