In response to the housing crisis, the coalition government is considering withholding GST payments from states that fail to meet housing construction targets.

Resources Minister Madeleine King criticized this proposal, arguing it would unfairly deny states like Western Australia their GST shares.

This authority would be empowered to investigate complaints and issue on-the-spot fines exceeding $3,700 for breaches.

Master Builders Australia chief executive Denita Wawn praised the July figures, highlighting a 10.4% increase in housing approvals, which is a positive start for the new National Housing Accord aiming for 1.2 million new homes by June 2029.

This increase was largely driven by a 32% surge in new apartment approvals, with almost 15,000 new dwellings approved in July.

Notably, more than 2,500 apartments in buildings nine stories or higher were approved, indicating a rise in high-density housing.

However, despite this monthly increase, current approval figures remain 5.1% lower than the five-year average, suggesting ongoing challenges in the housing sector.

Col Dutton, national director of the Urban Development Institute of Australia, cautioned against relying solely on monthly data to assess housing trends, emphasizing the importance of year-long assessments.

In terms of market performance, national home value growth recorded a slight increase of 0.5% in August, up from 0.3% in July, though the quarterly growth rate remains lower than in 2023.

Interest rate hikes continue to negatively impact apartment pre-sales and financing for build-to-rent projects, as noted by senior economist Maree Kilroy.

Matthew Kandelaars from the Property Council of Australia stated that achieving the 1.2 million homes goal is still possible but requires consistent monthly results.

In addition to these measures, the Greens party has proposed a renters protection authority to enforce standards for tenants and impose fines on landlords who violate them.