“We are well and truly over the target,” said Wendy Waller, the mayor of Liverpool. “We've got the land available, so we're very fortunate in that sense.” But Cr Waller said the council’s challenge was to ensuring roads, parks, and other community infrastructure keep pace with the rapid expansion. And to helping establish the conditions for local jobs, so residents did not have to leave the area for work. “We probably estimate we are looking at over $270 million just in traffic improvements alone... that's nasty intersections and reconfigurations and so on,” Cr Waller said. In the city’s north-west, it is understood the state government is soon to sign off on a new local infrastructure scheme. The scheme would require new contributions from developers to meet a list of community needs, such as roads, water supply, footpaths and parks.

“Doing nothing to provide housing for our children is not an option,” said the Planning and Housing Minister, Anthony Roberts. “It is critical that, just as generations before us built homes to house this generation, we need to build homes to house the next generation," Mr Roberts said. Michael Edger, the general manager of Hills Shire Council, said the rate of housing development in the area had been “faster than we re used to, and it’s been sustained for a fair period of time”. “We’re conscious that the growth is faster than what some would like,” said Mr Edgar, who credited the state government’s rail line through the area for much of the impetus. “But we’re working very, very hard to provide the things that we can to accommodate it.” “They’re not bad problems to have.”

One of the city’s largest housing targets was set for Camden, the semi-rural council area to the city’s south-west. Two years ago Marcus and Angela Biady were the first people to move into their development, Crest by Mirvac in Gledswood Hills, a 10-minute drive from Leppington station on the South West Rail Link. Loading “Since we've moved in a year later we've got a lot of people living here,” said Mr Biady, who said he moved to the area for the back-yard and the rural feel. “It reminds me of when I was a kid. We hang out at each other's places. Everyone’s really willing to talk and hang out, which is really nice.”

The Greater Sydney Commission does not use housing approvals as the key measure to see if its targets are met; rather, the commission uses figures for the ‘commencements’ of new houses. But the majority of approvals eventually become new homes. Developers said the industry was struggling to keep up with housing approvals granted in the past couple of years, though approvals had recently started to fall away. “Construction activity still hasn't peaked,” said Nigel Edgar, the General Manager of Residential NSW at Frasers Property. “You'll see it peak probably some time in the next six months or so,” said Mr Edgar. The city’s largest targets for 2021 were set for Parramatta, the City of Sydney, Canterbury Bankstown, Blacktown and Camden.