Following Sunday\u2019s welcome surprise that the concession threshold for first home buyers will be lifted, the REIQ says today\u2019s State Budget delivers a mixed bag for housing and small businesses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
REIQ CEO Antonia Mercorella said it was appropriate to see housing as the centrepiece of the State Budget which included some important first steps in the right direction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cStarting on a positive note, the REIQ was successful in advocating for an increase to the stamp duty tax free threshold for first home buyers which was long overdue,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhile a $700k threshold is a significant improvement and will be appropriate for many parts of Queensland, it will have limited impact in areas like Brisbane and the Gold Coast.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cTherefore, we\u2019d like to see recognition of how large and diverse Queensland\u2019s housing markets are with a bespoke approach that ties the threshold to median sales prices to ensure first home buyers can take advantage of it in all corners of our state.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt was also pleasing to see that despite constant reforms on rental legislation, the State Government remains sensible in not entertaining rent freezes or caps which would squash investment confidence in Queensland rental properties.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSeeing the increased funding materialise in the Budget for the housing sector is also a fitting recognition of the dedicated resources needed to make a real dent in the housing crisis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe also welcome the funding committed for the Sunshine Coast Rail line to Caloundra, which will unlock housing developments along that corridor, but it falls short of making it to Maroochydore.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, Ms Mercorella said it was disappointing to see that some of the Budget sweeteners would come at a concerning trade-off cost to Queenslanders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAt first blush increasing stamp duty taxes on foreign investors may seem like a good outcome for Queenslanders, but a lot of local builders and developers are partly owned by foreign entities and are instrumental in delivering new housing supply,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe\u2019re hearing our fellow peak bodies are dismayed by that decision, because the Government is giving on one hand with concessions to boost build to rent developments, but then taking with the other hand with new punitive measures which will lead to downward pressure on approvals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhen it comes to short-term sweeteners such as the electricity rebates, we\u2019re concerned that these could keep interest rates higher for longer, weighing heavily on mortgage holders and small businesses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOne economist noted that this measure alone may delay interest rate relief for ten weeks.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ms Mercorella said that beyond the support for 10,000 additional first home buyers, there are no housing outcomes identified in the Budget paper.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWith so much at stake we ask that the Government provides transparent targets and regular reporting against those targets to ensure that budgeted funds are being spent appropriately,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt is particularly notable that the Service Delivery Statements for both Treasury and Housing do not mention a housing target next year for either Private or Public Sector.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She said that the Budget had not pulled every lever possible for housing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe Sunshine State has such a bright horizon, but it\u2019s hard to be optimistic about our future opportunities in the throes of a housing crisis,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe lack of a broader infrastructure piece related to the Olympics, which is all but 8 years away, is a missed opportunity which is knocking the wind out of our sails.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe\u2019re also missing a trick when it comes to the lack of investment in productivity enhancing infrastructure across the state, particularly as our population grows.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe know that there\u2019s virtually no confidence to build in Queensland and so while moving towards manufactured homes is a logical move in these circumstances, we also need to get to the root of our state\u2019s construction emergency.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe Government need to do a better job of having conversations with the people who are behind building to understand why we are stalling \/reaching a stalemate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cFurther, there seems to be a reluctance to tackle bigger taxation reform, but if not now in the throes of a housing crisis, then when?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cFinally, the Budget is missing a roadmap to reestablishing Queensland\u2019s AAA credit rating to ensure capital isn\u2019t squandered away with higher interest rates on government debt.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
ENDS<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Media enquiries: Following Sunday\u2019s welcome surprise that the concession threshold for first home buyers will be lifted, the REIQ says today\u2019s State Budget delivers a mixed bag for housing and small businesses. REIQ CEO Antonia Mercorella said it was appropriate to see housing as the centrepiece of the State Budget which included some important first steps in the right direction. \u201cStarting on a positive note, the REIQ was successful in advocating for an increase to the stamp duty tax free threshold for first home buyers which was long overdue,\u201d she said. \u201cWhile a $700k threshold is a significant improvement and will be appropriate for many parts ofRead More →<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1287,"featured_media":4483,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mbp_gutenberg_autopost":false},"categories":[53],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/theonsitemanager.com.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4482"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/theonsitemanager.com.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/theonsitemanager.com.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theonsitemanager.com.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1287"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theonsitemanager.com.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4482"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/theonsitemanager.com.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4482\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4484,"href":"https:\/\/theonsitemanager.com.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4482\/revisions\/4484"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theonsitemanager.com.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4483"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/theonsitemanager.com.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4482"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theonsitemanager.com.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4482"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theonsitemanager.com.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4482"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
<\/strong>Claire Ryan, Media and Stakeholder Relations Manager, The Real Estate Institute of Queensland
M: 0417 623 723 E:\u00a0media@reiq.com.au<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"