Labor and Coalition housing policies could drive up prices, experts say
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Both major parties have pitched housing sector reform but experts say the lack of housing supply in Australia is not being adequately addressed.

Labor announced it would allow first home buyers to purchase homes with a 5 per cent deposit. It also pledged $10 billion to go towards building 100,000 new homes over eight years — exclusively available to first-time buyers — by way of grants to states and territories, and zero-interest loans or equity investments.

The Coalition’s policy would see interest payments on mortgages taken out by first-time buyers on newly built homes be tax deductible for five years.

Economists have been quick to give scathing assessments of some of the latest policies, which they argue will drive up demand, and in turn, housing prices. Chris Richardson labelled the major parties’ platforms a “dumpster fire of dumb stuff”, while Saul Eslake called the Coalition’s planned tax deduction “candidate for dumbest policy decision of the 21st century”.

But housing experts say the policies are missing the crucial issue driving the housing shortage.