Week two of the federal election campaign saw its first focus on property issues, with the Government announcing an extension of its Home Guarantee Scheme.
The scheme helps aspiring homeowners bridge the deposit gap and purchase a dwelling with as little as a 5% deposit by providing eligible people with a government. The decision lifts the maximum prices of the dwellings able to be purchased under the scheme.
The Property Council has supported the evolution of the well-targeted Home Guarantee Scheme and welcomed the weekend’s announcement.
The need for action on housing affordability is obvious. It was flagged as the most important issue for federal and state government focus by members in last week’s ANZ Property Council Survey. And last month, Property Council research showed 70% of voters feared the great Australian dream of home ownership is now out of reach.
The Government’s own forecasts show the extent of the future challenge. The National Housing Finance and Infrastructure Council estimated that Australia will find itself 163,400 homes short of demand between 2025 and 2032. With this forecast 35% drop in housing supply set to occur at the same time that population growth resumes, affordability pressures are likely to remain acute.
The Property Council has continued our calls for the Federal Government and Opposition to commit to taking a national leadership role on affordability and supply.
We have been advancing several workable models for how a federal government could work in partnership with state and territory governments to make a big difference in this space. Last month a Parliamentary Inquiry backed our recommendations and proposed a federal framework to incentivise better housing supply outcomes.
Housing affordability is a multi-faceted problem that has been decades in the making. Time for big solutions to address this big problem.
