Social Services Minister Tanya Plibersek has defended drops in house prices, saying the government’s modelling shows they will return to moderate increases in the future, as the majority of voters said they supported lower house prices.
“What we anticipate over time is not that house prices will continue to fall, but that they will grow more slowly. House prices have been growing too fast, and that’s meant that young Australians haven’t been able to afford a home of their own,” Plibersek told Seven’s Sunrise this morning.
“It used to be that the average house cost about four years of the average wage. Now it’s about 8½ years of the average wage. People just can’t keep up with that because they’ve been competing with property investors for those houses.”
In an exclusive poll commissioned by this masthead, 54 per cent of voters supported lower house prices, compared with just 11 per cent who were opposed. Another 35 per cent said they were unsure or neutral.
Appearing alongside Plibersek, Nationals leader Matt Canavan said the government’s most recent budget, which tweaked the capital gains tax discount and negative gearing, “has effectively driven our economy, like Thelma and Louise, over a cliff”.
“Jim Chalmers’ budget is a total flop. The prime minister should sack him. Get someone in there who actually can come up with an economic plan for our country. Because the biggest problem with what’s going on in the last few months is that confidence is now cratering, and that hurts our entire economy,” Canavan said.
