First-timers could soon use super to buy property
First-timers could soon use super to buy property
Posted on Monday, July 28 2014 at 1:36 PM
First homebuyers trying to enter the booming property market might soon be able to use their own superannuation as a deposit for a first home.
Independent Senator for South Australia Nick Xenophon will introduce
legislative changes in the spring session of parliament, which could have a
profound impact on the way first homebuyers purchase property and enter the
market.
For the first time, a proposal would allow first homebuyers to access
their superannuation and use this as a deposit, rather than saving for years
and years.
The scheme would be based on a similar one in Canada, which is known as
the Home Buyers’
Plan.
In Canada, up to $25,000 can be accessed for a first home and the amount
has to be paid back into the super fund within 15 years.
“With more and more Australians finding it difficult to break into home
ownership, (and) adopting the Canadian scheme would make a difference to many
thousands of Australians each year,” Xenophon says.
He adds housing affordability in Australia has fallen for the past three
decades, as house prices outstrip income growth.
This year’s annual affordability survey by Demographia found Australia
had the second-worst housing affordability in the world, behind Hong Kong.
All 39 Australian housing markets surveyed were ‘seriously’ or
‘severely’ unaffordable, defined as having average house prices of more than
four times the average income.
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