Albanese promises 100,000 new homes to ease housing crisis – but Labor’s all at sea on the details
Anthony Albanese has promised to build 100,000 houses just for first home buyers – but can’t say where they’d be built, who would be eligible or how much they would cost.
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Anthony Albanese is at odds with his Housing Minister over Labor’s pledge to build 100,000 homes for first-time buyers, with the Prime Minister suggesting they would be sold at the market rate, contradicting Clare O’Neil’s claim the houses would be “affordable”.
Mr Albanese was also unable to say where new homes would be built, how much money each state and territory would receive to construct them, and whether eligibility to buy the homes would be subject to an income test.
It comes as another economist warned a bipartisan push to allow all first homebuyers to purchase a price with a 5 per cent deposit would increase prices.
The Prime Minister said on Monday his $10bn fund to build 100,000 new homes reserved for first home buyers meant young Australians “won’t be competing with investors” to buy homes.
On Sunday Ms O’Neil told the ABC the government-built homes would be cheaper than those on the private market, and Labor would “negotiate” that price with each state.
About $2bn of the funding allocated by Labor for the scheme would go to states and territories which would have to bid for their share.
While Mr Albanese was in Adelaide and Tasmania promoting his plan, Peter Dutton was in Brisbane, spruiking his own housing measures alongside his 20-year-old son Harry, who fronted the cameras to shed light on the housing crisis.
Harry said he was “saving like mad” to afford a house but when his father was asked why he wouldn’t help his son out financially, Mr Dutton ignored the question.
“I haven’t finished the excellent points I was making,” he said.
Meanwhile, another economist has joined the growing list criticising the housing policies from both major parties.
“Both plans would see house prices rise because you’re putting more money in the pockets of first home buyers,” Grattan Institute housing and economic security program director Brendan Coates said.
Mr Coates said the Coalition’s policies would be “more likely” to increase prices, by expanding a scheme allowing first homebuyers to buy homes with a 5 per cent deposit while also making mortgage repayments tax deductible.
AMP chief economist Shane Oliver said both Labor and Coalition’s suite of housing policies “primarily boost demand”, while their “supply-side incentives” are not necessarily going to speed up the building of homes to meet the increase in first home buyers now looking for a property.
“It’s a basic problem both sides face, which is they are talking about measures that will boost demand,” he said.
Mr Oliver said labour and material shortages, as well as regulatory burdens, were all impacting the cost and build times for new homes.
“Fundamental delays and constraints around the property industry are the issue here,” he said.
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Originally published as Albanese promises 100,000 new homes to ease housing crisis – but Labor’s all at sea on the details
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