THE importance of the construction industry in the City of Wanneroo and how the state was stimulating the housing market were part of Treasurer Ben Wyatt’s speech at a business meeting this morning.
While providing an overview of the State Budget and its effect on businesses in the northern corridor Mr Wyatt said construction and manufacturing were two of the biggest industries in the City of Wanneroo.
Mr Wyatt said construction provided about $1 billion of the city’s gross regional product out of a total of about $7b.
He said Keystart was one of the tools available to him as the Western Australian Treasurer to stimulate the housing industry, which had been coming off a high since (early 2015) due to slow population growth due to the mining boom stopping just as a lot of housing came onto the market.
Under measures Mr Wyatt announced in the Budget, to help fill the gap in bank lending (after the Banking Royal Commission) and support jobs in the construction sector Keystart’s existing income limits for borrowers was increased by $15,000 for singles and couples and by $20,000 for families until from July 1 to December 31.
Keystart was important to get first homebuyers into the market – important in Wanneroo which has five of the top suburbs – Alkimos, Yanchep, Eglinton, Banksia Grove and Landsdale – where people are moving to and buying.
He said the 2 per cent vacancy rate and constraint on housing supply were expected to have some effect soon and that the increase in inquiries and applications for Keystart would start to flow soon.
A few hours after Mr Wyatt’s speech the Housing Industry Association (HIA) said Australian Bureau of Statistics data showed seasonally adjusted building approvals in July were up by 5.8 per cent in Western Australia.
HIA Economist Tom Devitt said the two interest rates cuts, a tax cut and the repeal of regulatory restrictions were still expected to encourage increased activity in the home building market.
“These measures, combined with ongoing stable population and employment growth should see approvals improve towards the end of the year,” he said.
In his talk Mr Wyatt said he did not want to lose the skills set of construction workers to the mining industry.
He said wages in WA like those in most mature countries were in a period of almost no growth but said 52,000 jobs had been created in the state in the past few years although about 8 per cent of those with work wanted more hours.
“Wages should increase as the mining industry spend started to flow through to the rest of the WA economy,’’ he said.
Although there had been unsustainable growth during the mining boom he said the state’s growth was now sustainable but patchy from month to month – the domestic economy was growing now and surveys highlighted more confidence.
He said the government was carrying out a record spend on road and rail especially in the City of Wanneroo but also in the northern suburbs generally.
Its infrastructure investment included the extension of the Mitchell Fwy to Romeo Rd and the Yanchep rail extension.
He said Metronet was not just a transport policy it was also a housing policy.
Earlier this month Capricorn Beach estate Manager Richard Cull said the Perth to Yanchep railway and extension of the northern Mitchell Fwy to Romeo Rd would cut travelling time to Yanchep and Perth.
“This reduced travelling time to Perth will result in a surge in people moving into Yanchep over the coming years which in turn will put an upward pressure on land values closest to the ocean,’’ he said.
