Tips and Traps of Developing Affordable Housing

By Justin Eslick

Different locations have different demand for affordable housing and this demand is often reflected in the concessions and incentives available for developers to encourage them to develop this product. The below list of ‘Tips and Traps’ is based on Brisbane, however, similar scenarios may apply all over Australia, especially in our capital cities.

The Essential Worker

Affordable housing really has multiple meanings. Most people define affordable housing as accommodation for boarders and Department of Housing residents, when it isn’t actually always the case. These days it may apply to accommodation housing ‘essential workers’. This is the branding for workers who may not earn as much income as they need to service the area that they are required to live and work in. The common examples are nurses or policemen. These are people who might be required to work in very expensive inner city locations yet do not earn the inner city dollars.

There are incentives that exist for developers who develop affordable housing for both of these types of residents. Rather than define this at any deeper level, for the purpose of this discussion we will treat the development for both these types as being ‘affordable housing’, however, the list tends to lean towards producing a ‘to be rented’ development, rather than a cheaper end product to sell.

Tips!

Here are some incentives and concessions that may currently be available or are being investigated:

Traps!

Beware though, developing affordable housing can come at a cost and there are traps:

As you can see there are some clear advantages and disadvantages to developing affordable housing. Owning and developing the above types of developments can be very, very rewarding, however, you need to be aware of exactly what it is you are developing.

One last tip!

Before proposing affordable housing go and speak to the various ‘higher ups’ in council and the State Government. In some cases there is a great demand for this type of product and they may go to extraordinary lengths to encourage constructing it, well above what is discussed above.

Investigate Property is a Brisbane based buyer’s agent for investment property, with experience in boarding houses and student accommodation. For more information on Investigate Property click here.

Latest Featured News

Swim or Surf ?: Flooding vs Overland Flow


2022 Update. We all know about flooding, but did you know that damaging water can get you from both directions? Read this article to see if you're safe.
 

Infrastructure Update - Exciting times for Brisbane!


Brisbane is seeing a burst in infrastructure activity not seen for considerable time, and it all culminates in here and now being the time to invest! Continue reading for a detailed but far from exhaustive list.

Need To Know – TLPI


TLPI’s are starting to play a larger role when it comes to buying and developing properties in Brisbane, but you can be excused if you do not know what one is, or have never looked at one before. However, it is very important you know about TLPI’s.

The Truth Behind Real Estate Words


Let's face it; agents can get rather creative with their real estate marketing. After all, no matter what the property is, where it is or how bad it is, it is their job to sell it! Let's take a look at what some of their words 'may' actually be saying.

 

Join our community

Community

Join Our Community

Keep up with the latest developments in the market for established properties in South East Queensland.

E-mail Address:
Full Name:
Postcode: