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Housing Minister Peter Tinley says Perth property prices are ‘still too high’
HOUSING Minister Peter Tinley will today outline how lower-income earners are continuing to be priced out of the Perth property market despite a softening in values.
Mr Tinley will give the keynote address at the launch of the Committee for Economic Development Australia’s latest Housing Australia report.
He will use the speech to highlight how — despite the cyclical nature of the housing market — there remains a shortage of affordable housing in Perth.
The minister will also point to overheated housing markets in Sydney and Melbourne influencing the fiscal policies of the Reserve Bank to the detriment of other parts of the country.
As of March, the median house price in Perth was $506,500, with a lower quartile price of $405,000. Median rents were at $360 a week with lower quartile rents at $320 a week.
Mr Tinley will argue that while WA’s housing market has come off from the heights of 2012, continued stagnant wage growth and the high cost of living have contributed to low-income earners being unable to enter the mortgage market.
He will outline how the State Government will create and maintain more affordable housing through Metronet and reforms to planning regulations.
The Housing Australia report includes recommendations to all levels of government on improving housing affordability.
They include relaxing planning restrictions, investing in better transport infrastructure to connect new housing with employment hubs and moving towards an annual land tax instead of stamp duty.
CEDA research and policy committee chairman Rodney Maddock said the report was a holistic review of housing and some of the drivers.
“CEDA’s research shows that barring any major economic jolts, demand pressures are likely to continue over the next 40 years and supply constraints will continue,” he said. “This is particularly the case in capital cities with a growing population and where an increasing proportion of Australia’s population are expected to reside.
“Often the debate around housing affordability is centred on foreign investment, negative gearing and interest rates.”
Tags: Housing Affordability, Housing Affordability in Perth, Housing Australia Report, Perth Property, Perth Property Market, Perth Property Prices