❓ Mr. Miles asks about government support for homeownership in Wanneroo. The Minister for Housing details changes to the Keystart loan scheme, including increased income and property price caps, and a pilot program for the North West.
AnsweredQoN 578Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
HOMEOWNERSHIP — GOVERNMENT SUPPORT
578. Mr P.T. MILES to the Minister for Housing:
Many young families in my electorate of Wanneroo dream of one
day owning their own home which, in the current property market, can be a
difficult prospect. Can the minister update the house —
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER : Order,
members! Member for Girrawheen, I formally call you to order for the first time
today. Member for Joondalup, I formally call you to order for the second time
today.
Mr P.T. MILES : Can
the minister update the house on the government's latest measures to
help make this dream become a reality?
578. Mr P.T. MILES to the Minister for Housing:
Many young families in my electorate of Wanneroo dream of one
day owning their own home which, in the current property market, can be a
difficult prospect. Can the minister update the house —
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER : Order,
members! Member for Girrawheen, I formally call you to order for the first time
today. Member for Joondalup, I formally call you to order for the second time
today.
Mr P.T. MILES : Can
the minister update the house on the government's latest measures to
help make this dream become a reality?
AnswerView source ↗
Before I answer that question, I welcome to the public
gallery students from Living Waters Lutheran College Primary School. On behalf
of the Deputy Premier, welcome to Parliament; I am sure you will enjoy question
time.
I thank the member for Wanneroo for the question and for his
strong interest in what the Liberal–National government has put in
place as a very strong and sound affordable housing strategy. A part of that
provides the mechanisms to deliver 20 000 additional affordable homes by 2020.
We are well on our way to that target. The member for Girrawheen, by
interjection, asked how it was going. It is going particularly well—given
that we have set ourselves a target, we have a plan, and we are moving to
deliver that plan. It is not just about public housing. Public housing is
actually part of the journey rather than the final destination. The challenge
and the true goal of government is to try to get as many people as possible
into their own rentals or into their own homes. Recently, as part of a package
to deliver on that, we looked at one of the most successful government-backed
home loan schemes, Keystart, and the settings it has in place. The Keystart
model is a low-deposit loan, with no mortgage insurance and no account-keeping
fees, which allows people who fall within certain income brackets and certain
savings histories to get into an affordable house. Over the past 20 years, 80 000
singles, couples and families have been able to get into homeownership through
the Keystart loan process. The member for Wanneroo raised this in his question:
recent census data shows that about 90 000 people in WA earning between $70 000
and $150 000 a year do not own their own home. We need to provide opportunities
through government for them to achieve the goal of owning their own home. There
are income caps in place. The cost of housing and the cost of rentals have gone
up; there have been a lot of changes. We need to ''contemplorise''
the settings we have in Keystart to ensure they match what is happening in the
marketplace. To that end, we have put some changes in place —
Mr E.S. Ripper : Is
that word in the dictionary?
Mr D.T. REDMAN :
Was it a big one for you, member for Belmont?
To that end, we also recognise there are not many properties
on the market available for less than $400 000, which, up until now, has been
the cap for the amount allowed to be borrowed against Keystart with a low
deposit. The government response has been to look at those and make changes. In
the metro area, we have increased the income caps to $90 000 for singles, $110 000
for couples and $130 000 for families. The property price cap has been raised
to $450 000 to hopefully reflect what has become a slightly different
marketplace in recent years. The allowable debt level has increased from seven
per cent to 10 per cent. That has eased parameters in the eligibility criteria
to access a Keystart loan in the metro area.
In the regions, the income cap has
gone to $110 000 for singles, $130 000 for couples and families, and of course
the property price cap has been lifted to $500 000. Perhaps more importantly,
we are putting in place a pilot for the north west to recognise the extreme
property prices and high rentals in that region. We have put in place a $30 million
pilot under the Keystart scheme to change the parameters in the hope that we
can test the market and see whether there will be a response to a parameter
change, to allow more people to access Keystart loans to get into
homeownership. In the Kimberley region, we are looking at income caps of $120 000
for singles, $150 000 for couples and families, and a property price cap lifted
from $400 000 to $700 000. In the Pilbara, income caps for accessibility have
been increased to $120 000 for singles, $150 000 for couples and families, and
a property price cap lift to $850 000 to better reflect that area's
real market circumstances. That is a $30 million pilot. We are hoping to see
exactly what plays out in response to that. If those changes move another
cohort of people into homeownership, that will be a positive outcome. We have
also introduced to Keystart clients a loans top-up scheme. So, rather than a
growing family moving from one house to another or selling one house to buy
another, they can access a Keystart loan to build an extra room or to build
extra facilities. Again, we are trying to achieve some flexibility to cater for
the needs of our client base and the market pressures that are showing.
The housing affordability strategy under the Liberal–National
government has been a very successful model. We are well on the way to achieve
our 20 000 target by 2020. There is more social housing, more affordable
rentals and more opportunities for first home buyers. These changes announced
today will give another cohort of people the opportunity to own their own home.
gallery students from Living Waters Lutheran College Primary School. On behalf
of the Deputy Premier, welcome to Parliament; I am sure you will enjoy question
time.
I thank the member for Wanneroo for the question and for his
strong interest in what the Liberal–National government has put in
place as a very strong and sound affordable housing strategy. A part of that
provides the mechanisms to deliver 20 000 additional affordable homes by 2020.
We are well on our way to that target. The member for Girrawheen, by
interjection, asked how it was going. It is going particularly well—given
that we have set ourselves a target, we have a plan, and we are moving to
deliver that plan. It is not just about public housing. Public housing is
actually part of the journey rather than the final destination. The challenge
and the true goal of government is to try to get as many people as possible
into their own rentals or into their own homes. Recently, as part of a package
to deliver on that, we looked at one of the most successful government-backed
home loan schemes, Keystart, and the settings it has in place. The Keystart
model is a low-deposit loan, with no mortgage insurance and no account-keeping
fees, which allows people who fall within certain income brackets and certain
savings histories to get into an affordable house. Over the past 20 years, 80 000
singles, couples and families have been able to get into homeownership through
the Keystart loan process. The member for Wanneroo raised this in his question:
recent census data shows that about 90 000 people in WA earning between $70 000
and $150 000 a year do not own their own home. We need to provide opportunities
through government for them to achieve the goal of owning their own home. There
are income caps in place. The cost of housing and the cost of rentals have gone
up; there have been a lot of changes. We need to ''contemplorise''
the settings we have in Keystart to ensure they match what is happening in the
marketplace. To that end, we have put some changes in place —
Mr E.S. Ripper : Is
that word in the dictionary?
Mr D.T. REDMAN :
Was it a big one for you, member for Belmont?
To that end, we also recognise there are not many properties
on the market available for less than $400 000, which, up until now, has been
the cap for the amount allowed to be borrowed against Keystart with a low
deposit. The government response has been to look at those and make changes. In
the metro area, we have increased the income caps to $90 000 for singles, $110 000
for couples and $130 000 for families. The property price cap has been raised
to $450 000 to hopefully reflect what has become a slightly different
marketplace in recent years. The allowable debt level has increased from seven
per cent to 10 per cent. That has eased parameters in the eligibility criteria
to access a Keystart loan in the metro area.
In the regions, the income cap has
gone to $110 000 for singles, $130 000 for couples and families, and of course
the property price cap has been lifted to $500 000. Perhaps more importantly,
we are putting in place a pilot for the north west to recognise the extreme
property prices and high rentals in that region. We have put in place a $30 million
pilot under the Keystart scheme to change the parameters in the hope that we
can test the market and see whether there will be a response to a parameter
change, to allow more people to access Keystart loans to get into
homeownership. In the Kimberley region, we are looking at income caps of $120 000
for singles, $150 000 for couples and families, and a property price cap lifted
from $400 000 to $700 000. In the Pilbara, income caps for accessibility have
been increased to $120 000 for singles, $150 000 for couples and families, and
a property price cap lift to $850 000 to better reflect that area's
real market circumstances. That is a $30 million pilot. We are hoping to see
exactly what plays out in response to that. If those changes move another
cohort of people into homeownership, that will be a positive outcome. We have
also introduced to Keystart clients a loans top-up scheme. So, rather than a
growing family moving from one house to another or selling one house to buy
another, they can access a Keystart loan to build an extra room or to build
extra facilities. Again, we are trying to achieve some flexibility to cater for
the needs of our client base and the market pressures that are showing.
The housing affordability strategy under the Liberal–National
government has been a very successful model. We are well on the way to achieve
our 20 000 target by 2020. There is more social housing, more affordable
rentals and more opportunities for first home buyers. These changes announced
today will give another cohort of people the opportunity to own their own home.
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