In three years and five months, only six new ‘significant’ development projects have been approved as NSW State Significant Developments. None have broken ground yet.
With a $20 million or $30 million entry to the system, all new villages will qualify. Described by the Government as a ‘pathway’ to fast track new, essential development, it is clearly not being called upon.
In this issue of The SOURCE we added (coincidentally) Pathways at Cremorne to the list, the sixth development to be approved. Here are the totals for the three years as it now stands, and the operators:
- 485 ILUs;
- 133 assisted living apartments;
- 440 aged care beds; and
- 18 palliative beds.
Montefiore: 37 ILUs and 6 aged care beds.
HammondCare: 57 ILUs, 12 aged care beds and 18 palliative care beds.
Opal: 165 aged care beds.
Uniting: 203 ILUs, 133 assisted living apartments and 120 aged care beds.
BaptistCare: 130 ILUs and 96 aged care beds.
Amara Cremorne by Pathways: 58 ILUs and 41 aged care beds.
Our friends at Westpac tell us however that they are seeing a significant uptick in retirement village investment enquiry. It’s needed.
Check out the Retirement Living Council White Paper Better Housing for Better Health, from November 2023:
Between 2023 and 2025, the RLC modelled around 5,000 new village homes would be built. In reality around 1,000 nationally have been delivered, and they had planning approval around 2020.
The banks are telling us they are ready to lend; they understand the metrics of demand swelling far beyond supply.
And maybe Donald Trump is doing us a favour, with tariffs generating rate cuts. This may bring back demand and higher residential prices (and home sales easier) while making new village projects more feasible.
The message: dust off old village projects and get them into the approvals systems now.
