Development applications are booming but these are the real barriers to Wollongong’s growth

From rising construction costs to the desperate need for a new Snakepit, WEC and access to Western Sydney, Simon Kersten speaks to The Pulse Illawarra.

Wollongong’s property market is facing a mounting crisis despite planning reforms designed to boost development.

Simon Kersten, Managing Director of Colliers Wollongong, said escalating construction costs are only part of the problem - with government taxes and levies being the real barriers to affordability and business growth.​

Speaking ahead of the Illawarra UDIA lunch on Friday, March 14, Kersten, who is chair of the Urban Development Institute of Australia Illawarra Committee, argues policymakers have overlooked one of the most significant cost burdens in housing development: government-imposed charges.​