Building more homes to buy and rent

It has been just over 100 days since I was appointed Special Envoy for Social Housing and Homelessness, and I have spent the time travelling around the country speaking to community members and housing services about the challenges facing housing affordability.

A house is more than a set of keys. It’s the foundation of education, employment and community. And everyone deserves a safe place to live.

Whenever I speak to members of our own community here in Southbank the same thing comes up time and time again. People want to be able to buy their own house, but right now, it feels so out of reach.

I know there are people right across our community who are doing all the right things but still can’t get over the line.

And if you are renting, I know the struggle of lining up for inspections and worrying about renewing your lease.

We need to build more homes, right across the housing spectrum. More social and affordable homes for people who need them, more homes for people to rent and more home for people to buy.

That’s why we are getting on with our ambitious $43 billion homes for Australian plan, with a target of building 1.2 million homes.

Our build-to-rent concessions has paved the way for the construction of 80,000 homes exclusively for people to rent.

These homes mean long-term, secure leases for people right across the country.

This is all about giving renters in our community the stability and security they need. And in Macnamara alone, there are already more than 3600 build-to-rent homes.

More homes means less competition for existing rentals, and that means more affordable rental properties.

We went to the election committing to supporting first home buyers get their foot in the door.

And we delivering on that commitment sooner. Instead of next year, from the October 1 first home buyers only need a five per cent deposit.

It’s not right that an entire generation has been locked out of the housing market, and we know the burden that is saving up for a deposit.

This change will help tens of thousands of first home buyers own their first home.

It means a first home buyer in Melbourne can purchase a $600,000 home with a $30,000 deposit. They could save up to six years off the time to save for a 20 per cent deposit.

On top of all of this, the five per cent deposit scheme will save members of our community thousands of dollars on lenders mortgage insurance.

Since coming to government, we have helped more than 180,000 first home buyers get a home of their own with a lower deposit. Expanding this scheme for all first home buyers will make a real difference for our community.

The federal government has an important role to play in building more homes for all Australians, and for too long under the former Coalition government, they handed off that responsibility to the states.

Now we are back at the table. Working alongside the states and territories, and industry, to get more homes built quickly right across the country.

We have already built 5000 social and affordable homes and have 25,000 more in the construction or planning stages thanks to our Housing Australia Future Fund.

We can’t fix the housing crisis overnight, but we are right back at the table building thousands of homes for people to buy and rent.

As Special Envoy for Social Housing and Homelessness, I know that tackling this challenge will mean working alongside the states and territories, community housing sector and our community, and that’s what I’m getting on with. •