Listings for rent on reiwa.com are at their lowest levels in over a decade. This is having dire consequences for our community, with many Western Australians struggling to find a suitable rental property.

The solution to the issue is complex. Bottom line, we need more houses. However, the housing landscape here in WA is complex.

Unfortunately new home builds continue to bottleneck, with the latest figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics showing WA completed 13,627 residential properties in the year to June 30, 2022, which is far from what we need to keep up with our growing population.

To put things into perspective, during the 2015-19 downturn, we reached near 30,000 houses for sale or rent in Perth at the peak. Right now, there are less than 10,000 properties for sale or rent in Perth on reiwa.com.

Despite this, WA remains in a relatively fortunate position. Several unique features mean we will be better placed to manage interest rate rises. With WA’s strong economy and continued population growth, the low supply of housing is expected to continue into the near future. Building completions are expected to improve over the next 18 months, which will free up some housing supply, and Perth remains one of the most affordable places for housing in Australia.

At this point, what is needed more than anything is a sense of urgency, along with an innovative, investor, collaborative and compassionate mindset. We have an opportunity to come together as a state to be part of the solution together – individuals, organisations, communities and government.

Let’s look at out-of-the-box solutions. Let’s work with local government to introduce laws which allow innovative, alternative, quick methods of home construction in our suburbs. Let’s understand exactly how much stamp duty is holding us back and let’s not forget how critical mum and dad investors are to a healthy rental market – we need them if we want to keep rent prices affordable.

COVID-19 showed us that when we are put under pressure, we can not only survive but thrive and band together as a community. Let us learn the lessons that the pandemic taught us and apply the same sense of urgency to the housing market as we did to personal and community safety.

Let’s work together to make sure all Western Australians have a safe place to call home each night.