With housing now worth more than $8 trillion — or four times the size of Australia’s GDP — it’s no surprise that there are several measures in place to ensure the continued security of Australian property.
On the topic of housing and small business, the Treasurer – Josh Frydenberg said, “under the Coalition, home ownership will always be supported”.
REB has previously reported on a number of headline home ownership initiatives that would be included in the budget.
Those are:
The establishment of a Family Home Guarantee
While many people can service a mortgage, saving the extra money each week to build up a deposit is simply too hard. According to HIA managing director Graham Wolfe, “The Family Home Guarantee provides a realistic, targeted and practical way to assist single parents build their family’s future. The new measures include:
• To allow single-parent families to purchase a home with a deposit of as little as 2 %.
• 10,000 guarantees will be made available over the next four years.
Expansion of the New Home Guarantee
• An additional 10,000 places in this 5% deposit scheme will be created, to bolster the success from the program’s first year.
• First home buyers seeking to build a new home or purchase a newly built home will be able to do so with a 5% deposit.
An increase to the First Home Super Save Scheme
According to the government, it “understands the importance of owning your own home and the significant economic and social benefits home ownership provides”. “Supporting more Australians to own their own home is part of the government’s economic plan to secure Australia’s recovery,” it said.
• This will see the maximum number of voluntary contributions (which can be released under the scheme) lifted to $50,000 from the previous $30,000 cap.
• “The scheduled annual 10,000 First Home Loan Deposit places in July will mean 30,000 places will come online to support first home buyers over the winter, which is positive, and banks are enthusiastic that these places will all be subscribed.”
• The Government has also set aside $125 million for social and affordable housing as helping to ease “a growing problem”.
The budget documents also revealed several other key measures designed to support Australian property and the Real Estate sector.
These include:
Downsizers
Mr Frydenberg has revealed that Australians over the age of 60 will be able to contribute up to $300,000 into their superannuation if they downsize their home. It is expected this will free up more housing stock for younger families. This scheme was previously only available to Australians over the age of 65.
Infrastructure spend
The Treasurer confirmed the government is spending $10 billion over 10 years on a number of infrastructure projects, the South Australia project will be the $161.6 million for the Truro Bypass in South Australia.
Having a place to call home helps to build strong communities
The Housing Industry Association believes the new measures “will make a real difference in the lives of thousands of Australians”.
He said: “These new measures will provide ongoing support for households looking to achieve the goal of home ownership.
“Secure housing is a fundamental need for everyone. Having a place to call home helps to build strong communities and allows individuals to build their future life with greater certainty,” said HIA managing director Graham Wolfe. There is some critic whether the budget allocation could have gone further to reduce homelessness and reach a larger group of disadvantaged community members.
