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The federal government has set an “ambitious” housing target on the back of a fairly grim economic outlook.
Among the government’s housing announcements included:
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National Housing Accord
The government has set a goal of building 1 million new homes over five years from 2024.
The homes are expected to be built under a new National Housing Accord, which is an agreement between all levels of government, institutional investors and the construction sector.
Under the accord, the government will provide $350 million over five years, with ongoing availability payments over the longer term, to deliver an additional 10,000 affordable dwellings.
States and territories will also support up to an additional 10,000 affordable homes, increasing the dwellings that can be delivered under the accord to 20,000.
Housing Australia Future Fund
The accord builds on the government’s $10 billion investment to establish the Housing Australia Future Fund.
Returns from the fund will be used to build 30,000 new social and affordable dwellings over five years.
National Housing Infrastructure Facility
The government is also expanding the remit of the National Housing Infrastructure Facility to allow it to more flexibly use $575 million of existing funds, to help unlock a projected 5,500 new dwellings.
National Housing and Homeless Plan
The government will provide $13.4 million over four years from 2022–23 (and $4.2 million per year ongoing) to develop a 10-year National Housing and Homelessness Plan in 2023.
The plan will be developed in association with states and territories, industry bodies and not-for-profit organisations to support the development of short, medium and long-term housing and homelessness policy.
Help to Buy
The budget also set aside money for its new Help to Buy Scheme (set to commence from July 2023).
The government will spend $324.6 million over four years from 2022–23 to establish the Help to Buy scheme to assist people on low to moderate incomes to purchase a new or existing home with an equity contribution from the government.
The shared equity scheme (first pitched during the ALP’s election campaign) involves an equity contribution from the federal government of up to a maximum of 40 per cent of the purchase price of a new home (and up to a maximum of 30 per cent of the purchase price for an existing home).
Buyers would only need to have a deposit of at least 2 per cent and they will not need to pay lenders mortgage insurance (LMI). There will be 10,000 places each financial year.
Home Guarantee
The Labor Party has committed to continue the Coalition government’s First Home Guarantee, Family Home Guarantee, and Labor’s new Regional First Home Buyer Guarantee that will support 10,000 new home owners each year to 30 June 2026.
Super Downsizer
The government will allow more people to make downsizer contributions to their superannuation, by reducing the minimum eligibility age from 60 to 55 years of age, which will take effect from the start of the first quarter of 2023.
The downsizer contribution allows people to make a one-off post-tax contribution to their superannuation of up to $300,000 per person from the proceeds of selling their home. Both members of a couple can contribute and contributions do not count towards non-concessional contribution caps.
[Related: Budget 2022/23: What you need to know]
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