Government’s budget gamble falls flat as Aussies slam housing agenda
A growing number of Australians are losing faith that the federal government will solve the housing crisis, despite a budget aimed at leveling property competition.
Exclusive data provided to this imprint by Amplify, a non-partisan community group, showed that 63 percent of survey respondents do not trust the government to take the right steps to improve housing availability.
This negative opinion was at 61 percent before the government announced the rollback of tax breaks for investors as part of the federal budget distributed in May.
The Albanian government has deliberately spent this political capital, expecting criticism from predominantly older Australians to be offset by the support it gains from aiding younger generations, its largest voting bloc.
This latest data shows that gambling doesn’t work; 41 per cent believe the budget will make it harder for young people to buy their first home, while 27 per cent say it will make no difference.
Less than a quarter thought the changes would make things easier.
“I think the government will be disappointed that many Australians are at best unsure and at worst think this could worsen the housing crisis,” Amplify chief executive Martin Codina said.
“Australians think the budget may redistribute winners and losers in the housing market, but it may not be enough to truly solve the housing crisis.”
The survey of more than 4,000 Australians between June 11 and July 3 also found two-thirds of the public don’t think their money is going as far as it did last year.
Western Australians and Tasmanians reported feeling the pinch more than other states.
“It’s very difficult to find a group that feels more optimistic or better off,” Codina said.
Lisa Munnecke, a marketing executive from Seaford, Victoria, has an impressive property portfolio. He bought his first home at 19, but is selling his investments to finance the future of his children and grandchildren.
He is among the investors who have emptied their portfolios; 33 percent of survey respondents said they would “likely” sell an investment property due to budget changes in the capital gains tax deduction and negative gearing.
“I could see where this government would probably go and where the economy would probably go,” Munnecke said.
“Frankly I don’t care which party you’re talking about, I’m just saying epic failure. The last twenty years are just epic failure.”
As a result, twenty-four percent of those surveyed are “seriously considering” switching to commercial property.
Confidence that the government will build enough homes has also fallen, with 65 per cent not confident the National Housing Deal target of 1.2 million homes by 2029 will be achieved, with the target itself not being ambitious enough.
“Frankly, we have not only a housing supply crisis in Australia, but also a crisis of confidence,” Codina said.
“We really want to see governments take the important and necessary decisions to do two things – to make it easier and quicker for housing to get on the market… particularly in terms of approvals and regulation.
“The second is to do more to reduce the cost of construction. This clearly makes a significant contribution to the number of homes built and the affordability of housing generally.”
Finance Minister Jim Chalmers said: ABC Housing starts, investments and approvals were on the rise last week.
“We’re turning things around on housing. We’re greatly easing net overseas migration. Those two things are happening at the same time,” Chalmers said.
House values fell significantly in Sydney and Melbourne due to the budget, remained stable in Adelaide and continued to rise, albeit more slowly, in Brisbane, Perth and Darwin.
While Jesse Di Loreto, auctioneer and real estate agent at Richard Matthews Real Estate, believes the Sydney property market has stabilized, he casts doubt on the benefits first home buyers receive.
“We are seeing a lack of stock in the market and this is really increasing competition. [That’s] It is very different from a month or two ago when there was so much more on the market,” Di Loreto said.
“We have found a level in the markets where we currently operate.
“I don’t think any of the government decisions have any impact on the first home buyer market.”
The opposition also hit back, claiming Australians are poorer today than they were four years ago.
