The housing policies of both major parties are bad for Australia’s aspiring homebuyers | Saul Eslake

The plans would exacerbate the problem they say they are trying to solve – rising property pricesWhat do Labor and the Coalition’s new housing polices mean for first home buyers?Sunday was a bad day for aspiring homebuyers. Both sides of politics proposed policies which will put upward pressure on housing prices – albeit one more than the other.The Coalition is proposing that, if elected, it will make interest payments on mortgages (up to a maximum value of $650,000) taken out by first home buyers (with incomes of less than $175,000, or $250,000 combined for couples) who purchase newly built houses or apartments tax-deductible for the first five years. Continue reading...