Financial News

The Turnbull Government today is committing to help thousands of young Australians trapped in the rental market as it declares home ownership a major positive for the economy. Treasurer Scott Morrison will focus on younger home-buying hopefuls who are slipping behind on housing independence, and other priorities for the coming Budget's attack on affordability. They include boosting investment in affordable rental housing, and overcoming the fractured nature of the Australian real estate market. And he will reinforce rejection of changes…

The current government schemes in place to provide stamp duty relief for FHBs are "poorly designed" and "not suited to current market conditions", according to the Property Council of Australia. Property Council executive director Jane Fitzgerald has said that while it is a good sign that government is considering assisting first home buyers, it is important to "look at the whole equation" for sustainable solutions. Doing so involves looking at both stamp duty cuts as well as boosting housing supply,…

More than a third of potential first home buyers believe they may need to delay buying a property should interest rates start rising, according to new research. According to Mortgage Choice and Core Data's Evolving Great Australian Dream white paper, 33.7 per cent of prospective buyers said they would be "increasingly unlikely to buy a home" if rates were to increase. However, a similar proportion (33.4 per cent) of those surveyed said rate rises would not impact their property buying…