With housing affordability a pressing issue this election, Labor came to the table with its shared equity scheme 'Help to Buy', where the government could take up to 40% equity in the home.
In addition, proposed schemes including the Regional First Home Guarantee, Housing Australia Future Fund, and reviews on price caps for first home guarantees should come into effect.
Arjun Paliwal, Founder and Head of Research of buyers' agency InvestorKit, provided commentary on the outlook and impact on the property market as a result of these housing promises, and how this election will impact buyers and sellers alike.
Help to Buy Scheme
Labor's proposed shared equity scheme came under some scrutiny after its proposal, particularly from former Prime Minister Scott Morrison who called it "insane" during a radio interview.
Under the scheme, buyers can jump into the property market with the Federal Government with as little as a 2% deposit, for up to a 40% equity contribution.
There are price caps in place for capital cities and regional centres, as well as income requirements, to steer the scheme towards low to middle income households.
Mr Paliwal said that while the scheme requires some fleshing out to help people get their heads around it, there are a lot of what-ifs and it's not very simple.
"Take up will likely not be high for this reason," he said.
"There are around 10,000 places available which isn’t a huge pool of demand, and with stock levels increasing, any support is helpful."
Regional Housing Scheme, Housing Australia Future Fund
The proposed Regional First Home Guarantee is set to help 10,000 regional families buy their first homes each year.
Additionally, the $10 billion Housing Australia Future Fund should see new social and affordable housing properties built around Australia.
Mr Paliwal said the regional housing scheme and price caps are good policies that will help with housing affordability.
"We will see spikes in regional demand for this," he said.
"Similarly, with the rental market being hammered and very tight over the last few years, Labor’s plans to create 30,000 new social and affordable properties will provide positive flow-on impacts."
The future of the housing market: Big changes ahead?
Mr Paliwal also gave his take on what the property market could look like over the next six to 12 months, and whether Australians should consider buying or selling now.
"We are currently in the election period where there is commonly less activity," he said.
"Many people tend to hold off on decisions until after the election, but there isn’t anything substantial enough in Labor’s policy to say you should make a behaviour change based on this – whether that be to buy, sell or invest.
"The policies also may not come out as quickly as the government would like them to."
Mr Paliwal said that with the election over, nothing significant has happened to make things completely boom or bust.
"Buyers and sellers don’t have any benefit to hold off on decisions they planned to make based on market conditions," he said.
"Those who were holding out for a massive change in the election, should go on with business as usual.”
Is now the time to invest in property?
James Fitzgerald, author of Bulletproof Investing, said the Australian property market is expected to bounce back despite price dips in the short term.
"Sydney and Melbourne property price growth has softened a bit lately, but I think that will soon turn around," Mr Fitzgerald said.
"These are the capital cities which attract the highest number of overseas migrants and now that the international borders have reopened, we expect to receive 200,000 new migrants every year for the next couple of years.
"I think the global pandemic has thrown a lot of people for a loop, particularly those who are self-employed, self-funded retirees, or those looking to try to invest for their future, and there’s a lot of fear and anxiety about money out there."
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