Daily Buzz: Thursday, 9 May
By
PropertyBuzz, your daily dose of property news.
A look at who is taking part in the Home Guarantee Scheme, the federal government puts money towards tradie training and what Victoria’s budget means for investors
Welcome to Property Buzz! I’m Juliet Helmke. Today is Thursday, 09 May.
– Australia’s Home Guarantee scheme has hit a significant milestone, with 150,000 buyers officially taking part in the low-deposit home buying scheme. On the event of the milestone, Housing Australia offered a look at who those buyers are.
– Of the 150,000 who have been approved for the scheme since its inception in 2020, 27,000 are key workers, including 8,800 teachers, 7,200 nurses and 1,700 emergency service workers. Just over half – 51 per cent – of participants are women, while 55 per cent were aged under 30 when purchasing their homes.
Additionally, the body revealed that since eligibility criteria for the scheme was expanded in July 2023 to include permanent residents as well as co-purchasers who are not in a romantic relationship, the scheme has proven even more popular. Approximately 9,000 permanent residents have bought homes with the Home Guarantee in the past 9 months, 500 siblings and 180 friends have made purchases together.
– To the budget now, and ahead of next week’s big unveiling, the government has revealed one of its bigger housing initiatives, with a $90 million cash injection to help boost the construction and housing workforce.
The bulk of that is made up of support for fee-free training, with $88 dedicated to creating 20,000 additional Fee-free TAFE training places that will flow to the states and territories.
– An additional $1.8 million will be devoted to streamlining and prioritising skills assessments for migrants with comparable qualifications
– The funding was welcomed by housing and construction industry representatives, who had been advocating for skills funding in pre-budget submissions, though they are also hoping that the government will continue with employer incentives to take on apprenticeships.
And speaking of budgets, The Real Estate Institute of Victoria (REIV) has described the state’s latest financial statement as “status quo,” welcoming no new taxes or incentives for property owners but lamenting a lack of incentives.
– REIV’s President expressed disappointment that the budget did not contain any measures to boost investor activity, calling it a missed opportunity amid a housing supply and affordability crisis.
– The REIV is continuing to push for strategies to make owning and retaining long-term rental properties more attractive to investors, which it claims is crucial for meeting the government’s housing targets.
That’s Property Buzz for today. See you again tomorrow, 10 May, for your daily dose of Property Buzz.
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