Opinion

The Property Council’s vampire mortgage controls

The housing lobby’s bizarre new idea suggests a profound identity crisis.

Mark Di StefanoColumnist

Feb 17, 2025 – 11.33am

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On Monday morning, Property Council of Australia CEO Mike Zorbas rolled out his lobby’s pre-election policy, a brain fart so fetid it got the whole sector to sit up.

The Property Council wants the federal government to force banks to cap the interest rates on mortgages for first home buyers at 5 per cent. Plus, first home buyers of new builds would need only a 5 per cent deposit.

Mark Di Stefano is Rear Window columnist, based in the Sydney newsroom. He previously worked at BuzzFeed, the Financial Times and The Information before joining the Financial Review as a media and tech correspondent.