Superannuation housing ‘solution’ will drive up prices
Almost three years ago to the day, Scott Morrison told first home buyers he was going to give them a go when he announced a “bold” new policy to help them into the property market.
Since mid-2019, the average loan for a first time buyer in both NSW and Victoria has climbed by $100,000 to almost $600,000 in NSW and just above $500,000 in Victoria. Our first time buyers may be on the ladder but they’re no closer to the top.The reason is simple: Both the Coalition and Labor are obsessed with sating demand while ignorant of supply.
By intervening in the first time buyers market, the government is setting up a problem for the second-round market.The two parties could have come up with a policy to pay local councils a “supply increase” bonus for changing planning laws to increase the number of homes available in their areas. It would add to supply, do it at a much lower cost and not have such large flow-on effects in areas such as superannuation.