Will Housing Reform Make Renting Even Harder?

Australia’s housing reforms aim to improve affordability and help more Australians buy homes. But could they unintentionally make it harder to build new housing?

In this episode, Richard Temlett, National Executive Director of Research at Charter Keck Cramer, explains the risks facing Australia’s property market. We discuss investor and SMSF changes, development feasibility, construction costs, planning delays and why approved projects don’t always become completed homes.

Richard also explores the potential impact on Melbourne and Brisbane apartments, the rise of build-to-rent and social housing, and why reducing investor demand doesn’t automatically create more affordable housing.

With Australia’s housing crisis driven by population growth, planning restrictions, taxation and limited social housing, Richard argues that there is no single solution. Addressing the crisis will require long-term coordination between governments, developers, financiers and the broader industry.

Episode Highlights

01:41 – Meet Richard Temlett: Inside Australia’s Housing Crisis

05:17 – Why SMSF Changes Could Hit New Housing Supply

08:18 – Why Housing Uncertainty Is Freezing Buyers

11:13 – Why Build-to-Rent Could Be a Housing Winner

18:11 –The Hidden Risks Developers Are Carrying

25:30 – Can Australia Actually Fix Its Housing Crisis?

27:03 – Why More Housing Supply Is So Hard to Deliver

31:50 – How Politics Is Reshaping Australia’s Housing Supply

37:12 – Why Investor Changes Could Reshape the Rental Market

39:31 – Why Australia’s Construction Industry Is So Unproductive

44:43 – Why Property Needs More Policy Certainty

48:02 – Why Politics and Property Run on Different Timelines

51:26 – The Case for a National Housing Reset

54:16 – The Housing Crisis: What Needs to Change Next?

About the Guest

Richard Temlett is the National Executive Director of Research at Charter Keck Cramer, where he specialises in data-driven, evidence-based research to guide property development and investment decisions across Australia.

With extensive experience analysing residential property markets, Richard works closely with developers, financiers and government to understand the economic, planning and market forces shaping Australia’s housing supply. His work focuses on turning complex market data into practical insights about development feasibility, housing demand and the factors influencing where and what gets built.

Richard is also the host of Precisely Property and a regular industry speaker, sharing his research and perspective on the challenges facing Australia’s property market. A former lawyer, he holds a Bachelor of Laws from Flinders University and a Master of Business from RMIT.

In this episode, Richard brings that research-driven perspective to one of Australia’s biggest challenges: how to increase housing supply without creating policies that unintentionally make new development harder to deliver.

Connect with Richard

• LinkedIn | Richard Temlett
• LinkedIn | Charter Keck Cramer
• Website | Charter Keck Cramer

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