Housing affordability: the Government’s stance and implications for all Australians

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We now have a portfolio dedicated to housing, which we haven't seen in recent governments.

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This scheme allows some borrowers to bring forward their purchase of a home, without having to pay mortgage insurance and using a deposit as low as 5 per cent. While this policy will have a significant impact on housing affordability for some buyers it’s not without risk. 

Borrowers need to be careful that they can repay the loan when interest rates rise and that they don’t get themselves into financial stress by taking on too much debt, lured by a scheme that may not make housing cheaper or more affordable.

The government’s announcement of the Hon Michael Sukkar MP as Minister for Housing – while not a policy as such – is good news for housing affordability.

It certainly helps that Sukkar is also our Assistant Treasurer. By combining these roles, we see a potential acknowledgement that housing plays an important economic role in Australia, for individuals but also for the economy.

The Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute recently commissioned work around this issue, as have others. So there’s a growing awareness that housing is a much broader economic influence. 

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We know that supporting people into great housing helps them stabilise their lives and means we save on all sorts of costs further down the line.

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If the government can release land for housing development with a higher proportion set aside for affordable housing – up to 30 per cent – then more Australians will be able to access more affordable rental properties.

It’s crucial that this is required by the Commonwealth when they’re selling the land. It has to be part of the release – as opposed to simply selling to the highest bidder in the market. Minister Sukkar has already flagged that he is expecting sales of Commonwealth land to include social and/or affordable housing – a very welcome direction.

This requirement would also help to forge more partnerships between CHPs and developers. By working together to develop more affordable and market housing on the same site – through tenure blind design to ensure all housing is built to the same quality – this initiative could have a very real impact on areas experiencing affordable housing shortages.

We know that supporting people into great housing helps them stabilise their lives and means we save on all sorts of costs further down the line. These initiatives are promising and to be encouraged if the Government is committed to making housing more affordable.