Three months out from the Queensland State Election, the Real Estate Institute of Queensland (REIQ) has called on the government to make the homeownership dream a reality for more Queenslanders.
The REIQ has released a policy suite with the goal of taking the state to the top of the home ownership table by 2032, calling on the State Government to revamp stamp duty, free up more housing stock and remove barriers to greater housing supply.
REIQ Chief Executive Officer, Antonia Mercorella, said the peak body’s policy paper, Levelling the Playing Field, called on all political parties to rebuild the pathways to home ownership in Queensland.
“The REIQ is advocating for an overall target of a home ownership rate of greater than 70 per cent for Queensland by 2032,” Ms Mercorella said.
“Our policies are designed to enable home ownership and ease rental pressures while maintaining Queensland’s reputation as a place for property investment.
“There are some significant hurdles to home ownership that feel insurmountable to many aspiring home buyers, meaning that would-be buyers are renting for longer.
“We know two of the key obstacles standing in the way are coming up with the 20 per cent deposit to avoid lenders mortgage insurance, and stamp duty payable at the outset.”
To close the deposit gap, the REIQ has proposed the government expand the Queensland Housing Finance Loan to a shared equity scheme that has a more relaxed eligibility criteria and close the Deposit Gap Loan by providing concessional loans at the prevailing Queensland Treasury Corporation Bond rate.
The institute has also called on the government to act as guarantor for first-home buyers, by complementing the Federal Home Guarantee Scheme with a more relaxed eligibility criteria.
Ms Mercorella said helping firs- home buyers struggling to get into the market and older Queenslanders wishing to downsize, would be just the beginning if the REIQ was granted its state election wish list.
“While we have widespread stamp duty reform in our sights, we would like to see concessions extended for first-home buyers and downsizers in the meantime,” she said.
“Historically, we’ve seen an unwillingness by governments to address the tax ecosystem, but now is the time for the State Government to negotiate a better GST outcome with the Federal Government in return for stamp duty reform.
“We’d like to see the First Homeowner Grant extended for use on established housing in regional Queensland where new builds have largely ceased, and for renovations on currently unliveable properties across the state which would revive much-needed stock.”
Ms Mercorella said reversing poorly drafted rental legislation and extending tax incentives to all investors were also key pillars in the policy recommendations.
“Queensland’s high rental population is largely housed by small private investors, yet they’ve been subjected to five phases of increasingly complex changes to rental regulation,” she said.
“These reforms were focused on providing protection and security for tenants but are largely impractical and unnecessary.
“They have not been balanced with incentives to encourage investment by everyday Queenslanders, like we’ve seen the government extending to multinational investors.”
Ms Mercorella said the institute was also looking for the State Government to lift handbrakes evident in local council’s planning approval processes to help fix our dwelling shortfall.
“Councils need to set building approval targets and be incentivised to boost supply by linking these to State Government infrastructure grant funds,” she said.
“Along with heritage controls, there are several complex controls and overlays that make construction of medium density challenging, and there is opportunity to streamline and expedite planning processes through greater clarity and clear definitions.”
She said improving productivity and the affordability of constructing new dwellings was also imperative to solving the construction emergency.
“To reduce our elevated construction costs, we need to build the labour pipeline with construction industry apprenticeships, revise BPIC procurement requirements without sacrificing worker safety, and incentivise the private sector to adopt modern methods of construction,” Ms Mercorella said.
“The REIQ has laid out a pathway towards improving housing security for all Queenslanders, and in alignment with these policies, we will continue to advocate for all levels of government to play their part in addressing our state’s housing, rental and construction crisis.”
Full details of the REIQ’s state election policies are available in a comprehensive downloadable paper here.
