What the major and minor parties are offering home buyers this election

Australia’s housing market has always been a hot topic, but in the lead-up to the federal election it has become a key talking point.

Candidates have been busy spruiking their policies on how voters can get into a home sooner. But are these policies likely to sway voters?

“The short answer is yes,” Grattan Institute economic program policy director Brendan Coates said. “I think it’s telling that housing is the one area where both major parties have been quite explicit and detailed in their policies, whereas other areas don’t have as much detail.

“I suspect it will be a highly salient issue when people are heading to the polls.”

So, here’s what we know about housing the policies on offer.

Coalition

The incumbents’ latest announcement is to let first home buyers access 40 per cent of their superannuation, up to a maximum $50,000, to buy their first home, as long as they have a 5 per cent deposit saved.

Those who use the Super Home Buyer Scheme must pay back the amount borrowed from superannuation once they sell their home, plus a share of capital gains.

The Coalition already has a Super Saver Scheme allowing first home buyers to access their extra superannuation contributions, which offers a tax discount on savings.

For those aged 55 and above, the Coalition is offering incentives to downsize. Future retirees will be able to deposit up to $300,000 per person into their super if they sell their family homes, under the proposed scheme.

The Coalition has also promised to add to social and affordable housing stock by offering $2 billion of low-cost loans through the National Housing Finance and Investment Corporation.

The new policies would be added to the Coalition’s Home Guarantee Scheme, where eligible buyers can get into the market with a 5 per cent deposit, or 2 per cent if they are a single parent. Regional buyers can also access the scheme, if they are buying or building a new home.

While some home buyers have welcomed the policies, the Coalition has been criticised by experts and economists who say they will inflate house prices as more buyers compete. It will also add pressure to those who need to take out larger loans, with a lower deposit, as interest rates rise.

The experts argue more homes should be built to give buyers choice and keep prices at more affordable levels. However, Morrison argues the policy will help raise the number of homes available and stimulate new home building, while Treasurer Josh Frydenberg put his “hand on his heart” to swear house prices wouldn’t go up because of the new super scheme.

Australian Labor Party

The ALP has also focused on housing affordability, launching its Help to Buy scheme at the start of Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese’s campaign.

It’s a shared equity scheme that would allow eligible home buyers, with at least a 2 per cent deposit, to purchase a home, with the government covering up to 40 per cent of the cost of a newly built property or 30 per cent of the cost of an existing one.

State governments such as those in WA and Victoria already run similar shared equity schemes, but this would take the idea to a national level.

Help to Buy will be open to buyers who do not own a property – not just first home buyers – but eligible buyers must earn less than $90,000 a year, or $120,000 if they are a couple.

Participants must buy back the government’s share in their house if they start to earn more than the wage threshold amount.

The ALP also plans to set up the Housing Australia Future Fund, a $10 billion investment fund where the returns will be used to build social and affordable housing across Australia. The party estimates 30,000 homes can be built in five years.

The ALP will match the Coalition’s Home Guarantee Scheme. Much like the Coalition, the ALP has been criticised for not addressing the need for more housing across the country and pushing up house prices. But Albanese argues it will “tackle the housing crisis” in Australia.

Australian Greens

“In Australia, housing is completely cooked. It’s a big problem, and with a big build, we can fix it,” the Australian Greens website notes.

They pledge to build 1 million sustainable, accessible and affordable new homes across the country through the establishment of a new Housing Trust.

Of these, 125,000 would be offered as part of a shared equity ownership scheme, allowing people to own their first home where they want to live for just $300,000. Owners will have up to 75 per cent equity in the home, and sell it back to the government if they would like to move on.

Another 125,000 would be built as universal access rental homes, while the other 750,000 homes would be built as public and community houses to put an end to long waitlists for those in need of social housing and “end homelessness”.

The Greens’ policies have been criticised as being too expensive to implement, having an unknown impact on the housing market and as unlikely to gain support from state governments.

Greens leader Adam Bandt argued something “urgent” needed to be done by the government to ensure every Australian had somewhere secure to call home.

United Australia Party

The party headed by Craig Kelly is promising to keep interest rates to a maximum of 3 per cent for home loans over the next five years, by legislating a cap.

The move has been heavily criticised as capping interest rates would create a raft of issues, including for the wider economy, with lower interest rates meaning higher costs including at the supermarket.

UAP has also pledged that the first $30,000 of a home loan would be tax-deductible “and restore the Australian dream for each Australian to own their own home”.

Australian Democrats

The Australian Democrats are advocating for 100,000 new affordable homes to be built and 100,000 social and community housing units. “Our plan also calls for tax reform – changing negative gearing rules, so they only apply to investment in new housing. We suggest halving the capital gains tax exemption to discourage speculation on existing housing and long-term house vacancies, currently 4 per cent,” its policy states.

Pauline Hanson’s One Nation Party

The only housing pledge, at least online, is to stop the sale of homes to non-residents and non-citizens of Australia.

Animal Justice Party

Though much of its policy surrounds the treatment of animals and testing on animals, the AJP does have a stance on housing.

“The AJP recognises and is guided by the expertise of the Australian Council of Social Service (ACOSS) on homelessness,” its policy states. “Accordingly, the AJP supports prevention and intervention measures advocated by ACOSS in 2020 to combat homelessness, including a proactive national housing strategy, sustained investment in affordable housing, and tax reform.”

Fusion Party Australia

The FPA – a fusion of the Science, Pirate, Secular, Vote Planet and Climate Change Justice parties – wants to stop capital gains tax incentives, replace stamp duty with land tax and increase zoning densities to stop urban sprawl. The party also hopes to increase social housing numbers among other policy promises.

Socialist Alliance

The Socialist Alliance is another political party offering a national housing policy. It also pledges to tackle homelessness and the housing affordability crisis by building more public housing.

The party also wants to establish a state-owned body to provide low-interest home loans and to nationalise and renovate all substandard rental homes, and repair and decarbonise public housing, as well as establishing a bill of rights for renters which would include rights to long-term leases, pets and guarantees against unfair eviction.