❓ The WA parliamentary question concerns the McGowan Labor government's decision to extend Keystart's loan book and its impact on housing affordability and the residential housing sector. The Minister's answer details government initiatives to support both supply and demand in the housing market.
AnsweredQoN 12Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
KEYSTART LOANS
12. Ms S.E. WINTON to the Minister for Housing:
Can the minister outline to the
house how the McGowan Labor government's decision to extend Keystart's
loan book by more than $400 million will continue to help Western Australians
enter the housing market and support jobs in the residential housing sector?
12. Ms S.E. WINTON to the Minister for Housing:
Can the minister outline to the
house how the McGowan Labor government's decision to extend Keystart's
loan book by more than $400 million will continue to help Western Australians
enter the housing market and support jobs in the residential housing sector?
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the member for the question.
We all know that the residential housing sector has experienced some
challenging times since the extreme highs in the eight to 10 years of the
previous boom, with the Housing Industry Forecasting Group, of which the
government is a participant, supporter and sponsor, forecasting something like
32 000 new home starts. It was a white-hot residential housing market that
created its own problems in terms of the capacity of people and trades to keep
up, particularly with the mining boom. The Housing Industry Forecasting Group
has revised its view on new home starts to around 17 500. That is a particularly
worrying sign. We are very much focused on looking at where the government can
assist in ensuring that our programs support both the industry and the ambition
and aspiration of Western Australians to access the housing and property
market. Of course, the affordable housing action plan has continued from the
previous government. We revised it and identified a new target of 35 000
affordable housing opportunities by 2020. This was on the back of delivery of
the ''Affordable Housing Action Plan 2017–18 to 2019–20'',
which committed to delivering 7 700 homes to people on low-to-moderate incomes
as well as investing in new construction that will support $2.3 billion in
economic activities and about 6 000 jobs over its three-year plan. As I said,
we are working towards a target of 35 000. We are well on track to achieve that
to create a supply-side response, if you like, to the situation we find
ourselves in.
The
other addition that is worthy of note is the Metronet social and affordable
housing and jobs package, which we put into play as soon as we came into
government to support the Metronet infrastructure program and ensure that the
transport-oriented developments around train stations and along high-frequency
public transport corridors will not only contribute to the intensity of
development in the inner urban ring of metropolitan Perth, but also ensure that
we deliver affordable housing inside those precincts. It is well underway, with
390 homes being constructed over the next three years, creating 2 378
jobs and $765 million worth of economic activity. The industry is very keen to
support it and participate. Expressions of interest with the Housing Authority
inside the Department of Communities is quite strong. They are very innovative.
It is creating a sense of innovation and acceptance of the needs of government
in responding to its mandate around Metronet, to ensure that we deliver a supply-side
response to the densification of the city and to allow social and affordable
opportunities inside those precincts.
That is on the supply side, but we
are also assisting on the demand side. Western Australia is a unique
jurisdiction in the Commonwealth of Australia, where we have a cross-subsidised
model whereby the government runs a $4.8 billion loan book. It was invented in
1989. Over 102 000 people have been helped into home ownership through
Keystart. In fact, in October last year, 70 per cent of all first home
constructions in Western Australia were funded by Keystart. It is a fundamentally
linked project.
We are experiencing difficult times in retail credit at the
moment, particularly around the housing market on the back of the royal
commission and the tightening of lending criteria. In fact, some banks quietly
tell us that getting a housing loan north of Joondalup and south of Rockingham
is very difficult, because the underwriting of the valuations of those
properties is very difficult for the banks to get around. Again, that is where
Keystart steps up. I am very proud to be the Minister for Housing who has
assisted the McGowan government in ensuring that we have a demand takeout model
that really supports the aspirations of affordable living and affordable opportunities
for people to own a home. Since coming to government, this government has
committed $921 million to the loan book—it was just recently updated by
$421 million—to ensure that there is enough capacity to make sure it
remains constant, relevant and available to all Western Australians who deserve
it.
We all know that the residential housing sector has experienced some
challenging times since the extreme highs in the eight to 10 years of the
previous boom, with the Housing Industry Forecasting Group, of which the
government is a participant, supporter and sponsor, forecasting something like
32 000 new home starts. It was a white-hot residential housing market that
created its own problems in terms of the capacity of people and trades to keep
up, particularly with the mining boom. The Housing Industry Forecasting Group
has revised its view on new home starts to around 17 500. That is a particularly
worrying sign. We are very much focused on looking at where the government can
assist in ensuring that our programs support both the industry and the ambition
and aspiration of Western Australians to access the housing and property
market. Of course, the affordable housing action plan has continued from the
previous government. We revised it and identified a new target of 35 000
affordable housing opportunities by 2020. This was on the back of delivery of
the ''Affordable Housing Action Plan 2017–18 to 2019–20'',
which committed to delivering 7 700 homes to people on low-to-moderate incomes
as well as investing in new construction that will support $2.3 billion in
economic activities and about 6 000 jobs over its three-year plan. As I said,
we are working towards a target of 35 000. We are well on track to achieve that
to create a supply-side response, if you like, to the situation we find
ourselves in.
The
other addition that is worthy of note is the Metronet social and affordable
housing and jobs package, which we put into play as soon as we came into
government to support the Metronet infrastructure program and ensure that the
transport-oriented developments around train stations and along high-frequency
public transport corridors will not only contribute to the intensity of
development in the inner urban ring of metropolitan Perth, but also ensure that
we deliver affordable housing inside those precincts. It is well underway, with
390 homes being constructed over the next three years, creating 2 378
jobs and $765 million worth of economic activity. The industry is very keen to
support it and participate. Expressions of interest with the Housing Authority
inside the Department of Communities is quite strong. They are very innovative.
It is creating a sense of innovation and acceptance of the needs of government
in responding to its mandate around Metronet, to ensure that we deliver a supply-side
response to the densification of the city and to allow social and affordable
opportunities inside those precincts.
That is on the supply side, but we
are also assisting on the demand side. Western Australia is a unique
jurisdiction in the Commonwealth of Australia, where we have a cross-subsidised
model whereby the government runs a $4.8 billion loan book. It was invented in
1989. Over 102 000 people have been helped into home ownership through
Keystart. In fact, in October last year, 70 per cent of all first home
constructions in Western Australia were funded by Keystart. It is a fundamentally
linked project.
We are experiencing difficult times in retail credit at the
moment, particularly around the housing market on the back of the royal
commission and the tightening of lending criteria. In fact, some banks quietly
tell us that getting a housing loan north of Joondalup and south of Rockingham
is very difficult, because the underwriting of the valuations of those
properties is very difficult for the banks to get around. Again, that is where
Keystart steps up. I am very proud to be the Minister for Housing who has
assisted the McGowan government in ensuring that we have a demand takeout model
that really supports the aspirations of affordable living and affordable opportunities
for people to own a home. Since coming to government, this government has
committed $921 million to the loan book—it was just recently updated by
$421 million—to ensure that there is enough capacity to make sure it
remains constant, relevant and available to all Western Australians who deserve
it.
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