Lib senator Andrew Bragg says most Sydney houses ineligible for new Albo govt housing scheme
The Albanese government has come under fire for using images of freestanding homes to promote its new Help to Buy housing assistance scheme when new figures show most will be too expensive to meet the criteria.
NSW
Don't miss out on the headlines from NSW. Followed categories will be added to My News.
The Albanese government has been criticised for using images of freestanding homes to promote its new “help to buy” scheme when new figures show just 14 per cent of houses in Sydney would be eligible.
Announced last year, Help to Buy is designed to assist first home buyers in the purchase a new or existing home with an equity contribution from the government.
Families will need a deposit of at least two per cent with the government setting price caps on the value of the property they are able to buy in each city.
In NSW, a price cap of $950,000 applies.
According to the latest CoreLogic figures for December, the cap would mean just 14 per cent of detached houses in Sydney would be eligible based on current sale prices.
The figure rises to 32 per cent if including other dwellings in Sydney such as apartments and townhouses.
Across other cities, just under 6.3 per cent of freestanding homes would fall under the $600,000 price cap in Adelaide, and 7.5 per cent in Perth.
In the ACT, 11.7 per cent of houses fell under the $750,000 price cap and 13.7 per cent under Brisbane’s $700,000 cap.
Liberal senator Andrew Bragg said the figures made a mockery of the promotional material being used by Housing Minister Clare O’Neil to promote the scheme given most houses were ineligible.
“Help to Buy is a cruel hoax on the Australian people. It is galling to see Labor and Ms O’Neil kick off the new year spruiking a policy in which most houses are ineligible,” he said.
“Ms O'Neil's social media posts from January this year clearly show freestanding houses, which will never fit into the scheme.
“Based on CoreLogic data, most houses in every capital city bar Darwin do not fit into the Help to Buy scheme. In Sydney, only 14 per cent of houses fit into the scheme. In Brisbane, just 13 per cent of the houses are eligible, in Adelaide it’s just 6 per cent.”
Instead of “holding out failed solutions” as false hope for Australians already doing it tough, the government should look to more practical solutions such as fast-tracking infrastructure and allowing people to use their own money in super for a deposit, he said.
A spokesman for Ms O’Neil said the average number of first home buyers entering the market was higher than it was under nine years of Coalition government.
“And our Help to Buy scheme means we’ll help even more ordinary Australians when it comes online later this year,” he said.
“Meanwhile the Coalition’s main housing policy will see median house prices shoot up by more than $75,000 – putting home ownership even further out of reach.
“On housing, like on so many other issues, the Liberals were asleep at the wheel for a decade, so we’ll let their bizarre social media critique go through to the keeper.”
More Coverage
Originally published as Lib senator Andrew Bragg says most Sydney houses ineligible for new Albo govt housing scheme
Join the conversation
Front of house collapses in southern Sydney fire
The front of a two-storey house has collapsed as firefighters battle to put out a massive blaze in Sydney’s south.
Read more
Three on the run after women egged in anti-Semitic attack
Three young men are on the run after egging five women at Bondi Beach in a targeted anti-Semitic attack, as more hateful graffiti was found plastered across homes and cars in two of Sydney’s eastern suburbs. Get the latest.
Read more