superannuation<\/a>. An estimated 11 million Australians own property, and about 2.25 million own at least one investment property.<\/p>\n\n\n\nGiven these figures, protecting existing property values is electorally advantageous, though it may come at the expense of new entrants into the market.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Centre for Population projects that Australia’s population will grow by 13.5 million<\/strong> over the next 40 years, adding demand equivalent to the combined size of Sydney, Melbourne, and Brisbane.<\/p>\n\n\n\nHow Political Policies Shape the Market<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Both major parties have announced measures intended to support first-home buyers, but critics argue these initiatives mainly stimulate demand, pushing prices higher.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Labor Party (ALP)<\/strong>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n- Expanded First-Homebuyer Guarantee Scheme starting January 2026, allowing all first-home buyers to purchase with a 5% deposit without paying Lenders Mortgage Insurance (LMI).<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Committed $10 billion to building 100,000 affordable homes over eight years, a move some experts view as too slow to ease current pressures.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
Liberal-National Coalition (LNP)<\/strong>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n- Proposed tax deductions on mortgage interest for newly constructed homes valued up to $650,000.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Set income caps of $175,000 for individuals and $250,000 for couples to qualify.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
The Greens:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n- Advocate for flat house prices while wages rise, aiming for 2000s-level affordability within 20 years.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Propose large-scale public housing projects, rent controls, vacancy taxes, and restrictions on property investors.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
Independent and Crossbench Members<\/strong> (e.g., Teals, Centre Alliance):<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n- Push for zoning and planning reforms to encourage higher-density housing.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Promote climate-resilient affordable housing.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Support the curbing of negative gearing and capital gains tax concessions.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
Immigration and Housing Demand<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Australia\u2019s fast population growth is cited by some economists as a key driver of housing demand. Van Onselen advocates for lower immigration<\/strong> levels to allow the housing supply to catch up and improve rental vacancy rates, thereby easing price pressures.<\/p>\n\n\n\nConversely, figures like Michael Yardney<\/strong> argue that developers will not build unless house prices increase by 15\u201320%<\/strong>, suggesting that profitability remains a critical barrier to new housing supply. Critics warn that this model risks deepening short-term affordability issues.<\/p>\n\n\n\nInternational Models of Housing Reform<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
The city of Auckland<\/strong> offers a practical example of effective reform. Facing housing affordability pressures, Auckland lifted height restrictions<\/strong> and promoted higher-density zoning<\/strong>.
This led to a significant increase in housing supply<\/strong> and comparatively lower growth in prices and rents<\/strong> compared to the rest of New Zealand<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\nWhile a sudden and sharp fall in home prices could have damaging economic consequences, Saul Eslake<\/strong> suggests that a controlled decline<\/strong> of 5\u201310% over three years<\/strong> would <\/p>\n\n\n\n“Do more to boost affordability than anything any government has done in the past 60 years.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He emphasized the need for governments to resist intervening to prop up prices when markets begin to soften: <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n“At the very least, they should not step in to prop up prices when they start to decline, which is exactly what they\u2019ve done in the past.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Affordable housing remains a distant goal for millions of Australians, despite government incentives. Without major reforms, ownership dreams could slip further away over the coming decades.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":103397,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-103396","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-housing","generate-columns","tablet-grid-50","mobile-grid-100","grid-parent","grid-33","no-featured-image-padding"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/103396","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=103396"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/103396\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":103401,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/103396\/revisions\/103401"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/103397"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=103396"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=103396"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=103396"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}