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- The Property Council of Australia urges the Federal Government to address housing affordability and ballooning property prices across the country ahead of the May election
- New data from the Property Council shows almost 70 per cent of voters fear younger people will never be able to buy their own home in Australia
- Meanwhile, government forecasts suggest housing is supply set to fall some 35 per cent as the nation’s population growth rebounds from its COVID-19-induced dip
- Property Council chief Ken Morrison says federal, state, and local governments should feel pressure to outline how to address the “wicked and complex” issue of property prices
- The Property Council has launched its own campaign ahead of the election highlighting the importance of housing policy and the benefit appropriate measures could have across myriad industries
The Property Council of Australia has urged the Australian Government to address housing affordability and ballooning property prices across the country ahead of the upcoming federal election.
New data from the Property Council shows almost 70 per cent of voters fear younger people will never be able to buy their own home in Australia.
What’s more, 90 per cent of people trying to get into the property market who were surveyed by the Property Council said housing affordability was one of the most important decisions in shaping their vote in the upcoming May election.
Property Council chief Ken Morrison said with the election only weeks away, the figures should “rightly” put pressure on federal, state, and local governments to outline how to address the “wicked and complex” issue of property prices.
“This data paints a pretty sad state of affairs,” Mr Morrison said.
“Our research shows four out of every five aspiring homeowners actually believe the dream of homeownership is unachievable, which you’d have to say is incredibly disheartening.
“It’s no wonder more than half of 18–34-year-olds say it will be an important issue for them in deciding their vote, while another quarter felt it was one of the most important issues coming into the election.”
And it’s not just younger voters expressing their concerns. Mr Morrison said 82 per cent of over 55-year-olds said they believed homeownership was “crucial” to financial security, and 70 per cent of them believed this was becoming unachievable for future generations.
The vast majority of voters — almost 70 per cent — said they believed for many people, the only way to ever be able to afford a house would be with assistance from the Bank of Mum and Dad.
Further, official Federal Government forecasts suggest things will only get worse, with housing supply set to fall some 35 per cent as the nation’s population growth rebounds from its COVID-19-induced dip.
As such, the Property Council said appropriate policy prescription to addressing housing affordability needed to be a priority for the government.
“As a country, we need to get better at bringing on the new housing that our growing communities need. There is no single silver bullet and every level of government has a role to play here,” Mr Morrison said.
The Property Council has launched its own campaign ahead of the election and 2022-2023 budget highlighting the importance of housing policy and the benefit appropriate measures could have across myriad industries.
“Australians deserve better and the campaign we are launching today aims to send a message that we need action from all our political leaders to work with industry to deal with the situation.”
