Housing issues will influence how the majority of Australians vote in the next Federal election, new research has shown.
The latest quarterly Mortgage Choice Home Loan Report* revealed that increasing anticipation of rate cuts is fuelling positivity among prospective buyers, with more feeling hopeful and fewer reporting interest rates are making them less confident.
With a federal election coming within the next six months, the consumer research explored voter attitudes around key housing issues, and the influence these issues may have on their vote. An overwhelming 87% of Australians consider housing at least somewhat important in how they will vote, with 93% of Millennials citing it would be a key factor when deciding how they would vote.
The housing-related issues of most importance included:
– Making housing more affordable (65%);
– Increasing the supply of homes (47%);
– Increasing support for first home buyers (37%);
– Rent control (35%); and
– Tax incentives to encourage housing investment (31%).
Mortgage Choice CEO Anthony Waldron said the report revealed that those with a mortgage are generally supportive of increased government intervention to improve housing affordability, but opinion is divided on the measures used to achieve it.
“While almost half (47%) of survey respondents with a mortgage said that reforming tax policies would make housing more affordable, 46% of mortgage holders surveyed currently negatively gear an investment property and would not like to lose those tax concessions”, he added.
A generational breakdown reveals that younger generations consider making housing more affordable and increasing support for first home buyers as the most important issues in the coming election, while Baby Boomers placed more importance on boosting housing supply than other generations.
All survey respondents, regardless of their age, agree that affordable housing is crucial for Australia’s future.
There was unanimous agreement across all generations that improving infrastructure in metro areas would be essential to support housing growth, with Baby Boomers most in agreement.
When asked what would make homeownership a more achievable goal for future generations, nearly 60% of survey respondents saw lowering interest rates as a solution, followed by stamp duty reform, and lowering the interest rate buffer on mortgages.
“It’s no surprise that consumers feel a reduction in home loan interest rates would make homeownership 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.”
Future rate cuts are fuelling confidence, the research found.
“Our latest survey reveals that prospective buyers are feeling slightly more hopeful this quarter than they were last quarter”, Waldron said.
“There are a couple of reasons why prospective buyers seem to be feeling more optimistic about their purchase plans, with 20% of prospective buyers saying they were hoping to buy this summer, and 23% looking to autumn 2025.
“With the cash rate on hold throughout 2024, home loan interest rates have remained relatively stable”, he said.
“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.
“While most economists predict a rate cut is coming, the timing of that cut remains uncertain – especially given the latest data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics shows that underlying inflation remains high and employment growth is strong.
“My advice to hopeful buyers would be to buy when you’re ready and avoid trying to time the market”, Waldron concluded.
*The quarterly Mortgage Choice Home Loan Report draws on home loan submission data from Mortgage Choice and a nationally representative survey of 1,000 consumers. The report highlights home loan trends, as well as the intentions of Australian borrowers and prospective buyers.
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