First home buyer scheme supports regional areas and millennials: HIA's Kristin Brookfield

New data released today by the Housing (Supply) Minister shows that the Federal Government’s First Home Loan Deposit Scheme is already helping millennials achieve their home ownership aspirations and giving a boost to regional areas.

The data shows that 34 per cent of applicants are aged between 25 and 29, while 76 per cent of applicants are aged between 18 and 34, with millennials making up the largest share. This represents 3,055 first home buyers taking the opportunity to buy their first home sooner.

These figures ring true with research undertaken for HIA in 2018 which found that 92 per cent of renters aspire to own their own home, yet only 49 per cent believe they will achieve that dream. The Scheme is clearly helping.

Where first home buyers are looking to live is also encouraging. A large number of applicants, including millennials, are looking to buy outside the major cities of Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne. This suggests that people are starting to think outside the box (and the capital cities) when they think about buying their first home.

The house price cap in these locations is on average around $400,000 and even then the data shows most borrowers are seeking approval to buy houses below that maximum price.

Free standing houses are the most popular purchase with the scheme, which tends to suggest people are buying existing homes, rather than new homes. This is something HIA has raised with the Government and we will continue to investigate as the Scheme matures to ensure first home buyers have a choice.

There is no simple or single solution to increasing the rates of first home ownership but it is important to ensure that at the heart of any incentive scheme, greater housing supply is a core objective. Achieving this helps both first home buyers and those renting and saving their deposit.

No doubt this strong early take up will encourage the Government to think about increasing the number of places for the scheme in 2021.

All Australians seek to have secure housing options. Home ownership is an important fundamental of achieving that and increasing housing supply will have trickledown effect for the economy as whole.

HIA is heartened to see the Scheme receiving so much interest and so many first home buyers now being able to achieve their home ownership dream.

KRISTIN BROOKFIELD is the Chief Executive of Industry Policy at HIA