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The Sydney housing supply forecast is the best available NSW government information on where, when and how many new homes are likely to be built in the Sydney area in the next five years.
The Sydney housing supply forecast is an annual product that informs us about potential future housing supply. It is not an indicator of underlying housing demand.
The 2021 forecast has some enhanced features: it is now available to download at ASGS 2016 Statistical Areas Level 2 (SA2) and greenfield precinct level.
The Sydney housing supply forecast is critical for strategic planning decisions both inside and outside government, as well as for monitoring expected housing supply in relation to underlying housing demand.
Figure 1. Sydney housing supply forecast
View a larger version of the Sydney housing supply forecast infographic
COVID-19 has had major impacts on the way Australia functioned over the last 18 months. Australia’s international borders closed in March 2020 and had partially reopened by November 2021. The full economic and social consequences of the pandemic for NSW and Sydney are still unknown but will be felt going forward.
The 2021 medium growth scenario, which is based on market conditions in October 2021, forecasts the building of 151,500 new homes over the five years from 2021-22 to 2025-26.
The department has developed and released three scenarios to address the uncertainty surrounding COVID-19. These scenarios reflect the potential outcomes for the housing market based on varying economic and demand factors over the next five years. Based on the scenarios, the department is forecasting between 143,400 to 161,300 new homes could be built over the next five years (2021-2022 to 2025-2026) based on one of three scenarios.
The past five years represent a record high in delivering Sydney housing, with around 181,000 new homes built between 2016-17 and 2020-21. In the 2018-19 financial year alone, around 42,400 homes were completed. This is the highest number ever recorded in one year. This high level of growth occurred on the back of strong housing approvals and commencements, a healthy economy and record low-interest rates. However, in the 2020-21 financial year the Sydney housing market continued a relative slowdown, with housing completions falling to around 29,800. This slowdown in part reflects the uncertainty surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic.
COVID-19 has been an unprecedented disruptive force, but both the Sydney and NSW population will continue to grow. This means demand for housing will also continue to grow and we need to plan for the homes demanded by a growing and aging population.
The forecast approach considers:
A new feature that has been added for the 2021 forecast is the department has released data at ASGS 2016 SA2 and greenfield precinct level which provides additional spatial detail.
For more information, check out the following sections:
The Greater Sydney Urban Development Program (UDP) is the NSW Government’s program for monitoring housing and employment land supply and assisting infrastructure coordination in Greater Sydney. The Sydney Housing Supply forecast is visualised on the UDP dashboard, with full details on the housing supply page.
View the UDP dashboard.
Download the 2021 Sydney Housing Supply Forecast data (XLSX, 122 KB).
5-year housing supply forecast for Greater Sydney by Local Government Area (LGA), District, Suburb, SA2 and Greenfield Precinct.
Page last updated: 11/08/2022