With housing affordability cost of living pressures shaping as a top three key election issue that voters will consider at the ballot box, PowerHousing Australia was pleased to see the Help to Buy shared equity policy announced in the campaign by Federal Labor as part of a wider housing election plan.

In many cases, the government has stepped in to replace the bank of mum and dad and this will be a relief for many voters both young and old.

The ALP Help to Buy announcement is a positive step for 10,000 lower income earners to again have a hope to take a share of a new or existing home.

Housing prices have shifted to a new unreachable plateau that more and more Australians cant afford. The Help to Buy policy provides options that are not available across the whole country today which provides hope particularly for those in the regions who have seen home prices rise by up to 56% over the past 2 year COVID period.

As a policy that PowerHousing has been calling for, the Help to Buy program will offer housing options particularly for those on lower incomes that had almost disappeared in a time of rapidly rising house prices.

As part of a wider more comprehensive National Housing Plan that includes the reestablishment of the National Housing Supply Council, renters and housing aspirants will respond to this positively at the ballot box throughout the regions and cities across Australia on May 21.

Whilst there has been focus on housing in the last political term, time is up for many Australians who want a future that includes the purchase of housing at an affordable price point that doesn’t haemorrhage the household budget in a rising interest rate environment.

PowerHousing community housing tenants would be first in line to look at taking a stake in a home purchase which they have simply had little or no chance in the past 3-5 years of hyper price growth.

ALP had previously announced 30,000 social and affordable homes to be built in the next 5 years through the Housing Australia Future Fund and the Help to Buy program would complement that announcement for many Australians.

10,000 homes is a start and it would be hoped that there is a larger number of homes offered in future years.

We are far from out of the woods though and greater numbers of social and affordable homes are needed today more than ever and the concept of a national plan and shared equity as announced to alleviate housing pressures from an incoming Federal Government.