Labor leader Anthony Albanese has announced a plan to help first home buyers snag a house in this boomer-dominated hellscape we find ourselves in.
Under a Labor government, the government would pay for up to 40 per cent of a house’s total cost if the buyer is eligible for the scheme.
There is a housing crisis in Australia – that’s why an Albanese Labor Government will cut the cost of buying a home for 10,000 Australians per year.
— Anthony Albanese (@AlboMP) April 30, 2022
Labor’s proposed “Help to Buy” plan means buyers won’t have to borrow the money from a bank which charges a metric shit-tonne of interest.
“After nine long years in government, housing affordability has only got worse under the Liberal-National government,” Albanese said on Saturday as per The Age.
“We have a government that is so complacent, that is ignoring the rising costs of childcare, the rising costs of food and groceries, the rising costs of living.”
The policy will be formally announced on Sunday in Perth where the opposition leader will launch Labor’s Western Australian election campaign.
To be eligible, buyers will need to have a taxable income of less than $90,000 for individuals and less than $120,000 for couples. They will also need to splash 2 per cent of the total cost upfront.
The new home-owner would then have the option to buy the government out of its share in the house, or it will recoup its share the next time it sells.
Ready to launch Labor’s campaign in Perth tomorrow. pic.twitter.com/BAbAKe9Esc
— Anthony Albanese (@AlboMP) April 30, 2022
If you’re thinking to yourself “hey, this sounds a little familiar” — you’d be right. You smart cookie, you.
The Victorian, Tasmanian & Western Australian State Governments already have similar policies in place to ease the pressure of first home buying.
Further details here 👇 pic.twitter.com/qBmeUpMyDT
— Australian Labor (@AustralianLabor) April 30, 2022
The NSW Government announced plans for a similar assistance scheme which we covered in detail here.
The main difference between the state and federal schemes is the scope and budget.
Albanese’s plan will assist 10,000 buyers per year. It will chip in for 40 per cent of a new house’s total cost or 30 per cent of an existing home’s cost.
For comparison, the Victorian Government’s scheme assists 3,000 buyers at any one time and chips in 25 per cent of a house’s total cost.
The move comes after the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) announced they would be raising interest rates this coming week for the first time in a decade as per The Age.
An interest rate rise effectively means that anyone paying off a home loan will need to fork out more cashola. This is because banks usually adjust their interest rates in line with the RBA.
The current Liberal Government’s housing plan is known as the Home Guarantee Scheme.
It allows first home buyers to buy with a 5 per cent deposit rather than the standard 20 per cent with the government covering the remaining 15 per cent.
Labor’s plan doubles (at minimum) the percentage of available government assistance from 15 per cent to 30 per cent for existing homes and 40 per cent for new homes. Hoofty!
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