SMC fires first shot in election super for housing | Australian Markets

The industry funds-backed Tremendous Members Council (SMC) has fired an early shot within the looming Federal Election coverage debate over tremendous for housing, pointing to New Zealand as a prime instance of what can go fallacious.

The SMC described New Zealand’s tremendous for a home scheme as “a cautionary tale for Australia”, claiming that new analysis had confirmed that Kiwi home costs had spiked and home possession charges had fallen after the coverage was launched.

“The New Zealand lived experience shows a policy to bust open super for housing would not help first home buyers get into the market in Australia – this real-world example shows home prices rose even faster and homeownership rates fell,” the SMC assertion mentioned.

The SMC mentioned its examination of detailed proof from New Zealand confirmed that because the KiwiSaver HomeStart scheme began in 2010:

• home costs in New Zealand spiked upwards in-line with withdrawals from KiwiSaver
• home possession charges fell total, and dropped sharply for people of their 30s,
• Mortgages steeply elevated, as did debt ranges amongst first home patrons

“Since the policy’s introduction there, house prices in New Zealand have risen 134% from June 2010-June 2024, more than in the previous two decades and 1.5 times faster than house prices in Australia,” the SMC assertion mentioned.

It mentioned the coverage had not labored with a smaller share of New Zealanders turning into householders, notably amongst first home patrons.

SMC chief govt, Misha Schubert mentioned Australia ought to heed New Zealand’s cautionary story and never make the identical coverage mistake.

“If you want to see further rises in house prices and falling home ownership rates – New Zealand shows introducing a super for a house policy leads in that direction,” she mentioned.