Expanded and new federal housing programs will expand access of ACT first-home buyers, who often earned above former means-test limits. This is timely with a small decline of first-home buyers in recent years.
Higher interest rates have seen first-home buyer loans fall overall in the ACT, and it remains especially difficult for single borrowers to access entry-level housing as home owners.
The ACT affordable housing ballot uses a means-test at similar levels to Help to Buy, with important provisions to assist specific groups, or consider circumstances adjacent to the baseline means-test.
Affordable housing ballots are often greatly oversubscribed and access to new and expanded federal programs may serve those who are missing out.
General Resolution
The ACT’s equities in federal housing programs
Conference calls on the ACT and federal Labor governments to co-ordinate closely the delivery in the ACT of new and updated federal housing programs including Help to Buy, the Home Guarantee Scheme, and new program to build nationally 100000 homes for first-home buyers.
The cohort of applicants for the ACT Government's affordable housing ballots, often greatly oversubscribed, may be well served by these new and updated programs and should be engaged directly.
The best alignment of means-tests and eligibility across ACT and federal programs should be explored, and further innovative features of these programs considered.
Going forward federal programs will involve a very large proportion of first-home buyers and engagement and a closer connection of government programs will the overall first-home buyer cohort. This is most true in the ACT where more first-home buyers than the national average were above former means-test levels.