The Real Estate Institute of Victoria (REIV) welcomes the Victorian Government’s proposed Big Ideas outlined in its New Plan For Victoria but urges the government to deliver a sufficient variety of housing options to meet Victorians’ diverse living preferences and ensure that the state is innovative in attracting capital to finance the delivery of its planning initiatives.

In a submission informed by feedback from across its 7,000 members, the REIV is offering two key recommendations to refine the New Plan for Victoria, a whole-of-state plan being developed by the Department of Transport and Planning. 

The REIV’s key recommendations are:

Ensure that diverse housing needs are reflected in the plans 

Victoria has a diverse population with differences in living arrangements, demographics, cultural backgrounds, lifestyles and budgets. Disparate living preferences must be given due consideration to ensure real-world viability of the plans.

Victoria must be innovative to attract capital to finance the delivery of its planning initiatives. 

The long-term provision of housing supply will require sustained capital investment from private markets. The Victorian Government must consider property tax reform and the reduction of regulatory burdens to incentivise investment in Victorian residential property.

As part of its submission, the REIV outlined five key cohorts that demonstrate the different living preferences that exist at various life stages. These were informed by real-world insights and feedback from members.

Kelly Ryan, Chief Executive Officer REIV, said the recommendations will be crucial to ensuring the best possible planning outcomes for Victorians and the state.

“During this important period of transition and growth in Victoria, the role of suitable and sufficient housing cannot be understated. The proposed planning framework will shape Victoria’s housing scene for decades to come, so getting it right at the planning stage is critical,” she said. 

 “Our members are at the coalface, working with Victorians every day. We know that people’s housing preferences change over time. It is important that plans for the future reflect the diversity of our needs.” 

Ms Ryan pointed to the importance of taxation and regulatory reforms in attracting greater investment to fund the plan.  

“At a time where significant capital investment is needed to finance the delivery of new homes, many taxation and regulatory measures continue to have deleterious impacts on the housing market. 

“We’re urging the Victorian Government to consider ways of incentivising investment in the housing market such as a comprehensive review of stamp duty, the retention of negative gearing, new tax incentives for property investors, and initiatives to reduce regulatory burden,” she said. 

The full submission is available here. 

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