Affordable housing.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
It's still out of grasp for the majority of younger Australians while world events, and ones much closer to home, have only worsened the dire situation.
On Sunday, at its campaign launch in Perth, the freshly-out-of-iso party leader Anthony Albanese spruiked Labor's Help to Buy plan.
Under the proposal, up to 40 per cent of a home's value would be purchased by the federal government, saving some first home buyers up to $380,000 on a loan.
It will also bring down home deposit hurdles to as little as 2 per cent.
But the Prime Minister is hosing down the idea, claiming Labor is "looking to make money out of this".
What he's referencing can not so simply be described as a "cash grab".
It does mean, however, the federal government would own a stake in your house - though you can buy them out - and will make a profit from capital gains once the property is sold.
The announcement comes in the wake of the skyrocketing cost of living.
Annual inflation surged to 5.1 per cent last week with a rate hike expected from the Reserve Bank this Tuesday.
But will Labor's plan do much to solve the issue of housing affordability?
It might relieve pressure - but only for a few.
The scheme is capped at 10,000 places, costing $329 million over four years. Targeting low-and-middle-income earners, singles will need to be earning $90,000 a year or less to be eligible while couples are capped at a $120,000 joint income.
Properties eligible in Sydney and other major regional centres will be capped at $950,000 while dwellings in Canberra will need to be a maximum $600,000.
Still, a plan is better than no plan and Labor is banking on this policy to get them over the line on polling day.
We'll see in three weeks' time if it's enough.
READ MORE:
- Katherine Deves rushed from Liberal party rally, does not take questions from media
- Federal election 2022: PM to 'stare down' tech firms for stronger parental controls
- Free influenza vaccines in Sydney, Melbourne
- RBA to dust off interest rate lever
- Specs bring art to life for colour blind
- NSW police officer charged over sex abuse offences
- Maitland mum and autistic son show others 'what is possible'
- Postcards: Darwin is obsessed with laksa, and I don't get it
- Macquarie Correctional Centre inmates release the Lonely Road CD