Whilst other Australian Cities (including Brisbane) were actively restricting zoning laws, Melbourne did the opposite. The result: Melbourne has gone from the second most unaffordable capital to being the cheapest city with a population of well over a million. Even smaller regional cities like Newcastle and the Sunshine Coast are now less affordable than Melbourne. Much of the affordability is thanks to greater supply of apartments as well as better transport connections to more affordable areas in regional Victoria. Meanwhile here in south east Queensland, we have failed to unlock medium density, social housing and transit oriented development. Whilst Melbourne does still have an urban sprawl problem like we do, it’s also managed to densify many of its suburbs. Of course Melbourne does also have the benefit of having better PT and active transport coverage but we could still learn a lot from this. It might not make standalone houses affordable again but greater density can deliver more apartments and rental supply.
