The Australian state of Victoria may abandon a newly proposed housing levy after the Andrews government said the property sector reneged on its promise to support reforms in the industry. The state government on Feb. 18 announced the new Social and Affordable Housing Contribution, which would impose a 1.75 percent levy on all newly built developments with three dwellings or more from July 2024, to raise funds for constructing thousands of social and affordable homes. It said that less than 30 pecent of residential planning permits would be subject to the levy, and each year the government could raise more than $800 million (US$578 million) to build around 1,700 new social and affordable homes. However, many major industry groups immediately raised concerns that buyers would have to bear the brunt of the levy costs, pushing young people further away from the housing market. Premier Daniel Andrews said there had been discussions …