Build More Than Demand

Kohler’s explicit case for housing supply that exceeds demand—and the political difficulty of making affordability visible in prices.

The paired portraits and credits appear on the series home. This is Martin’s independent commentary on Kohler’s published work. Alan Kohler has not reviewed or endorsed it.

Kohler’s documented work

What he has argued

In his 2025 ABC housing investigation, Kohler argued that Australia needs more homes across inner, middle and outer areas, with supply high enough to run ahead of demand. That is more demanding than a general promise to build more while preserving a steady rise in existing home values. The implication is that some places may need greater density and that price growth could flatten or reverse. His reporting treats these as real political trade-offs, not painless technical adjustments.

Martin’s response

Where I agree, and where I go further

I agree that a public housing policy cannot promise affordability while also guaranteeing that each owner’s asset keeps rising. I would add a further possibility: if automation, robotics, energy and fabrication change the cost of building, the question may become how society chooses to use capacity, not only whether it can produce enough units under today’s methods. That is a hypothesis to explore, not a claim that technology has already solved housing.

Open question

What I still want to understand

What mix of infill, transport, infrastructure and new construction would create homes where people need them? And how should a democracy explain an affordability policy whose success may mean slower price rises?

Research trail

Sources

Published 18 October 2026 · Commentary by Martin Davies-Roundhill · Contact End Up Here