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Housing will be one of the big issues on voters’ minds in the run-up to the next federal election, according to new Mortgage Choice research.
The latest Mortgage Choice Home Loan Report has revealed that housing will be a key election issue for voters at the upcoming federal election.
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Federal elections must be held once every three years in Australia, with the next federal election due to be held before 17 May 2025.
In the Mortgage Choice Home Loan Report for the September quarter 2024, it was revealed that almost nine in 10 (87 per cent) respondents said housing would be at least ‘somewhat important’ to how they will vote, with 93 per cent of Millennials (aged 28–43) citing it as a key deciding factor.
According to the national survey of 1,000 consumers, the most important housing issues were:
- Making housing more affordable (65 per cent).
- Increasing the supply of homes (47 per cent).
- Increasing support for first home buyers (37 per cent).
- Rent control (35 per cent).
- Tax incentives to encourage housing investment (31 per cent).
However, views on how to best address these housing issues – which have been a core focus of the recent Senate inquiry into housing affordability – varied.
Anthony Waldron, Mortgage Choice CEO, said that the majority of respondents with a mortgage were supportive of increased government intervention to improve housing affordability (71 per cent), but there seems to be less consensus regarding the best plan of attack.
“While almost half (47 per cent) of survey respondents with a mortgage said that reforming tax policies would make housing more affordable, 46 per cent of mortgage holders surveyed currently negatively gear an investment property and would not like to lose those tax concessions,” Waldron said.
When asked what measure would make home ownership more attainable for future generations, more than half (58 per cent) of respondents said lowering interest rates, followed by stamp duty reform (49 per cent) and lowering the interest rate buffer on mortgages (37 per cent).
“It’s no surprise that consumers feel a reduction in home loan interest rates would make home ownership more achievable – a rate reduction would certainly improve borrowing power and reduce home loan repayments,” Waldron said.
“It’s interesting to see consumers’ awareness about the potential power of stamp duty reform, as I believe this tax presents one of the biggest barriers to first-time buyers.
“Shifting to an annual land tax levied on all properties would improve housing supply and in turn benefit housing affordability.”
Rate cut anticipation
Mortgage Choice’s research also showed some signs of optimism from consumers entering the property market. According to the September report, fewer prospective buyers (54 per cent) said interest rates made them feel less confident to buy, compared to the June report (when it was 62 per cent).
“There are a couple of reasons why prospective buyers might be feeling more optimistic about their purchase plans,” Waldron said.
“With the cash rate on hold throughout 2024, home loan interest rates have remained relatively stable. We’ve also seen an increase in the availability of homes to buy, with the PropTrack Listings Report revealing that new listings in September 2024 reached their highest volume since September 2015, giving buyers more choice and more time in their purchasing journey.
“We asked survey respondents who identified as prospective buyers when they were hoping to buy, and 20 per cent said this summer, and 23 per cent said they were hoping to purchase in autumn 2025.”
Waldron said an interest rate cut would likely prove a trigger for activity.
“The research reveals that those who are looking to buy in 2025, are waiting for house prices or home loan interest rates to fall to put their plans into action,” Waldron said.
“This is particularly the case for respondents living in Sydney (50 per cent) and Melbourne (48 per cent). If the Reserve Bank decides to cut the cash rate in early 2025, we may see the timing of some of these purchases brought forward.
“Victorian property prices have been comparatively subdued in 2024, driven by home loan interest rates, a large volume of stock available for sale, and state government policies that have impacted property investment. A fall in home loan interest rates is likely to be a boost for the Victorian market.”
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