Housing High on the List at Poll Time

Housing High on the List at Poll Time

As you read this article on election day, hopefully you have already had the opportunity to beat the queues, nab your freedom sausage and cast your vote in the great democratic process, freeing up the rest of your day for fun (or work, depending). For those that haven’t quite got there yet, or aren’t certain what each party is going to do for your housing situation, then this might be timely.

Much like in our recent State elections, housing remains one of the most important issues or voters, with a particular focus on providing more housing (and more affordable housing) for tenants, and more opportunities for home buyers to get into the market for the first time.

Both major parties have made sweeping promises in regards to the number of new homes that will be built over the next few years, providing “support” to drive construction of hundreds of thousands of new homes, some through direct funding, and other through infrastructure investment in conjunction with states and local governments. Both sound great in concept, but both are equally hard to quantify until you get to the end of the period.

More immediately, the LNP has proposed tighter immigration limits (reducing the additional need for housing), a freeze on changes to the National Construction Code (fewer changes, fewer cost increases) and the ability for first home buyers to claim interest payments on their first home has a tax deduction for up to 5 years (on brand new homes). Early access to Superannuation specifically for a home purchase is also on the cards, up to $50,000 or 40% of your Super, whichever is the greater.

Labor’s policies are more conservative, with a focus on government support for new rental housing and stock for First Home Buyers. The First Home Guarantee would be opened up to ALL First Home Buyers, rather than the currently capped number – dropping the deposit requirement to just 5%, with no LMI (Lender’s Mortgage Insurance). On a $600,000 buy, that drops your deposit to just $30,000. Often the deposit is the first (and biggest) hurdle to get into the market, so this can be a big help, particularly in conjunction with Grants where eligible.

The Help to Buy scheme with shared equity in the property helps with repayments, not just deposit, but remains limited to 10,000 spots per year, limiting its overall impact. This is one area I am watching with interest as it offers a genuine affordability impact beyond purchase.

As always, we’re faced with lots of promises that require a degree of trust (and a sprinkle of hopes and dreams) to approach reality. However you vote, make it count.