Data from the Real Estate Institute of Victoria shows the median home price in Seymour is now $503,000.
Nationals Candidate for Euroa Annabelle Cleeland said despite being good for homeowners in the region, the rise created a housing affordability crisis, making it impossible for many to get into the market.
“A lack of supply is also making rental properties more expensive, pushing more people into insecure housing,” she said.
Areas closer to metropolitan Melbourne, such as Broadford and Kilmore, are often developed through private investment. However, north of Seymour, council capabilities are often limited by staff numbers in planning departments.
To tackle the housing crisis, The Nationals propose a squad of roving planners that will travel regional Victoria clearing the backlog of developments that have been delayed due to a shortage of council-employed planners and alleviating some of the pressure on local councils.
If elected to government at the November state election, The Nationals plan to use the roving planners to fast-track the approval of 50,000 new housing lots in regional Victoria.
O'Sullivan Building’s Gerard O'Sullivan said The Nationals’ plan to bring more plots to the market had the potential to make a difference to people in the region.
“A shortage of developed land is one of the reasons house prices have increased locally,” he said.
“A lot of younger people around town are finding it difficult to buy because prices have gone through the roof.
“Anything that can be done to help people in our own community to get into the market is a good thing.”
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