Modular homes could be the innovative solution to a growing housing crisis in regional Australia, industry experts say.
Addressing the Regional Australia Institute (RAI) national summit on Wednesday, RAI senior economist Diwa Hopkins said worker accommodation in regional areas was a top priority.
National crisis
More than 166,000 people moved to the regions over the last census period, previous RAI reports obtained by ACM said - a number that housing supply could not keep up with.
According to the state government, there are 20,000 jobs currently advertised for regional NSW.
Meanwhile Victoria needs an additional 83,400 workers by 2025 to meet regional workforce demands, its government said.
Regional local government areas see tighter rental vacancy rates than their city counterparts, according to Ms Hopkins.
In NSW, 80 out of 86 regional government areas had tight rental vacancy rates in 2021, which Ms Hopkins said saw little change in years following.
That metric extended to all local government areas of regional Victoria, 32 out of 45 in regional Queensland and 18 of 21 in regional Tasmania.
In some areas, vacancy rates sit as low is 0.16 per cent, according to the RAI.
Housing All Australians director Robert Pradolin said the housing shortfall was being seen nationwide.
"This is a real tragedy that is happening in this country," Mr Pradolin said.
Construction shortages and rising material costs were also a challenge.
However panellists said "boldness" from the private housing sector could set solutions in sight.
Build smarter, not harder
Modular homes have often been seen in Australia as a cheap and nasty fix. Companies working in the space, though, say they could be key to housing essential workers and low-income earners.
Nick Lane is founder of Passive Place, which creates affordable and sustainable homes through modular builds.
He said the company's houses can be configured into different shapes, creating custom houses without the expense and energy footprint of traditional building.
They are far cheaper than usual construction, too. In fact, "click together" homes can be purchased, unbuilt, for as little as $250,000.
"I am thinking about solutions that don't [require change] in government policy," Mr Lane said.
Marketing the houses to essential workers, Mr Lane said modular homes were better received by small towns than large, commercial developments.
"People know these are workers, nurses, teachers, builders in their community," he said.
He said this helped communities feel they were "part of the solution" in delivering more housing stock, rather than scrambling to find houses for influxes of workers.
Diversifying the workforce
Modular homes are also helping bypass construction shortages across regional Australia.
Mr Lane works in communities where up to 20 per cent of builders are set to retire in the next five years - an issue he said required a workaround.
Prefabricated homes require rigorous tests and a usual construction certificate to ensure quality, but they do not that the same level of skill to construct as traditional builds.
Greg Muller, chair of modular village developer Nestd, said recognising this solution was important given it would take 30 to 40 years to fix housing figures in regional Australia.
"Any housing project is going to take many years to realise itself and where we have demand today is not going to solve itself for some years," he said.
Attractive home option
Nestd creates entire villages out of modular homes, acquiring land for social and affordable dwellings.
Central to the design is a "beautiful aesthetic", so the houses look like everyday houses from their facade, Mr Muller said.
"It is important we acknowledge people living in social housing are just like anyone else, they just may have found themselves in a difficult situation," he said.
Quality design, along with community facilities in modular communities helped improve self-esteem and mental health issues for those in social housing, Mr Muller said.
