Melina Bath – Push to review Homebuyer Fund
Tuesday, 23 April 2024
It has never been more difficult to buy a home, and as the cost-of-living spirals out of control The Nationals Member for Eastern Victoria, Melina Bath, is calling for a review of the Allan Labor Government’s Homebuyer Fund.
The Homebuyer Fund is a shared equity scheme where the Government provides eligible participants with a contribution of up to 25 per cent of the purchase of a price of the home, in exchange for an equity share in the property.
Participants must contribute a minimum of 5 per cent of the purchase cost. In regional Victorian, the maximum purchase price must be $600,000 or less.
“The median house price in regional Victoria is $616,000 and it’s clear the Homebuyer Fund price cap needs to be reviewed,” Ms Bath said.
“Cockatoo for example is classified as regional and the median house price is $800,000. This has increased some $80,000 in the nearly three years since the Homebuyer Fund was launched, but the price cap has not increased to keep pace with the growth in house prices.
“West Gippsland depicts a similar story, with the median house price well over the cap.”
“Victorians are paying the highest taxes in the nation, our power bills are the highest in the nation, and there is a chronic shortage of affordable homes across the state.
“Under Labor, the barriers to home ownership are so insurmountable that many young people are now writing off the idea of ever buying a house.
“It is incumbent on the Labor Government to do everything in its power to remove as many of these barriers as possible so Victorians can by their own homes.
“I am calling on the Treasurer to review the Homebuyer Fund with a view to increasing the price caps for regional Victoria, enabling more people to get these first home buyer grants.”