In its pre-budget submission, the Real Estate Institute of Australia (REIA) has urged the Government to act on housing affordability and to stem the rapid decline in the number of first home buyers.
REIA President, Peter Bushby says, “We want to see a marked improvement in the standards of delivery of vocational education and adequate data on the supply/demand imbalance of housing for informed decision-making by policy makers and stakeholders.”
“REIA’s 10 proposals are aimed at contributing to Australia’s continuing economic development and productivity.”
In preparing 2014/15 Budget, REIA seeks the Commonwealth Government’s consideration of the following:
- Ensure the availability of reliable data on housing demand and supply to formulate appropriate policies and to monitor their effectiveness;
- All states and territories uphold the initial intent of the Intergovernmental Agreement in Federal Financial Relations Schedule A, that assistance to first home buyers will be “uniform” and that “an eligible home will be new or established”;
- Review the amount of the First Home Owner Grant annually to maintain relativity with house price movements;
- Allow first home buyers access to their superannuation for the purchase of a home;
- Retention of current arrangements for negative gearing of property investments;
- No increase in Capital Gains Tax on property investments;
- Abolish stamp duty on property transactions in favour of an efficient source of revenue for states and territories;
- Improve the supply of housing for social housing tenants transitioning to private rental by utilising private investment;
- Monitor HAF and NRAS to observe its effects on housing supply and to conduct a review which considers additional measures to bridge the demand/supply imbalance;
- Ensure the Australian Skills Quality Authority (ASQA) funding is adequate to ensure nationally approved quality standards are met for vocational education and training.
Source: REIA