Five key recommendations to the Australian Governmentin the lead up to the 6 October 2020 Budget have been provided by the RealEstate Institute of Australia (REIA).
REIA President Adrian Kelly said in themid-COVID19 world, policies to assist first home buyers into the market-place,and providing a boost to the economy through property, were at the forefront ofREIAs considerations.
Agents, renters, investors and those looking to enterthe market for the first time are all facing difficulties, said Mr Kelly.
Our recommendations to treasury target key areas for government to generate economic activity that supports both agents and theirclients, with a focus on market entry for first home buyers.
Specifically, we seek expansion of the First HomeLoan Deposit Scheme to include all first home buyers and an extension of theFirst Home Super Saver to allow access to pre-July 2017 voluntary contributionsand earnings.
There are proven international models for the use ofretirement savings to purchase property from Canada, the Netherlands and NewZealand.
For home renovators, wecontinue to support the HomeBuilder initiative by recommending a lowering ofthe program limits. This will encourage increased uptake of the program acrossthe board for all Australians.
Lastly, for renters andproperty owners, for those working in the property sector and other industriesthat will take longer to recover, we support the extension of JobKeeper,JobSeeker and the rental support scheme, where needed.
The successfulimplementation of these policies ensures Australias property agents cancontinue to support renters and home buyers nationwide and contribute to Australiaslong-term economic resilience.
Budget submission at a glance
In light of the post-COVID economic environment andthe later than usual Federal Budget, REIA has provided five key recommendations to treasury:
- Expand the First Home Loan Deposit Scheme to include all first home-owners.
- Extend First Home Super Saver to include pre-July 2017 extra contributions and earnings.
- Continue to support the success of HomeBuilder by lowering the limits of the program.
- Extend JobKeeper and JobSeeker for sectors affected in the long term by COVID-19.
- Extension of rental support for sectors affected in the long term by COVID-19.
