The Real Estate Institute of Queensland (REIQ) has launched a comprehensive policy suite aimed at making homeownership a reality for more Queenslanders.
Titled Levelling the Playing Field, the policy paper calls on political parties to rebuild pathways to homeownership in Queensland.
REIQ CEO Antonia Mercorella (pictured above) emphasised the overarching goal of increasing Queensland’s homeownership rate to more than 70% by 2032.
“REIQ is advocating for an overall target of a home ownership rate of greater than 70% for Queensland by 2032,” Mercorella said.
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The policy paper outlined several key reforms, including addressing the challenges of high deposits and stamp duty.
“We’ve proposed three options for the Queensland government to help close the deposit gap including expanding and relaxing eligibility for loan schemes or acting as guarantor,” Mercorella said.
Stamp duty reform is a significant focus of the REIQ’s proposals.
“While we have widespread stamp duty reform in our sights, we would like to see concessions extended for first home buyers and downsizers in the meantime,” Mercorella said.
REIQ also aims to reverse complex rental legislation and extend tax incentives to all investors.
“Queensland’s high rental population is largely housed by small private investors, yet they’ve been subjected to five phases of increasingly complex changes to rental regulation,” Mercorella said.
The policy paper called for reforms to local council planning approval processes to address dwelling shortfalls.
“Councils need to set building approval targets and be incentivised to boost supply by linking these to state government infrastructure grant funds,” Mercorella said.
Addressing the construction emergency, REIQ proposed building the labour pipeline through apprenticeships and revising procurement requirements.
“To reduce our elevated construction costs, we need to build the labour pipeline with construction industry apprenticeships,” Mercorella said.
With the state election approaching in October, REIQ plans to engage with major political parties to advocate for their comprehensive housing policies.
“REIQ has laid out a pathway towards improving housing security for all Queenslanders, and in alignment with these policies, we will continue to advocate for all levels of government to play their part in addressing our state’s housing, rental and construction crisis,” Mercorella said.
The full details of the REIQ’s state election policies are available in a downloadable paper, titled "Levelling the Playing Field."
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