Latest news with #HigherEducationLoanProgram
West Australian
a day ago
- Business
- West Australian
‘Crocodile tears': Home loan change could add to worsening housing crisis
It's now easier for Australians to buy a home, but a key change to credit limits could push up the price of housing, a leading economist warns. The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) announced on Thursday that Higher Education Loan Program (HELP) debts would be excluded from the credit limit for prospective homebuyers from September 30. Independent economist Saul Eslake told NewsWire that the change's two most obvious effects would be to 'allow some people who'd buy a home anyway to buy a more expensive one and (to) allow some people who wouldn't have been able to buy a home because of their student debt' to do so'. 'The net effect of those two factors will be to increase the demand for housing,' he said. 'The likely result is that it will, along with other things that governments are doing, put further upward pressure on the prices of property.' Mr Eslake said the change meant some people would be able to enter the housing market more quickly than otherwise but 'it would come at the expense of others'. 'The primary beneficiaries of this change will be those who will already own property will be able to sell it to people at higher prices than otherwise,' he said. 'That's consistent with the 60 years of evidence that we have, going back to the first homeowners grant scheme introduced by the Menzies government in 1964 that tells us that anything that allows Australians to pay more for housing than they'd be able to otherwise results in more expensive housing and a smaller proportion of the population owning it.' Mr Eslake added it was 'obvious' the money saved on HELP debt cuts would now be going towards a more expensive house. 'The reason that governments keep doing these things despite the evidence and despite all of the crocodile tears they routinely share about the difficulties faced by would-be first-home buyers is because they know that there actually aren't very many of them,' Mr Eslake said. 'On average, 110,000 a year, whereas there are 11 million people who own their own home. There are 2¼ million who own at least one investment property. That's an awfully much bigger number of votes for policies that keep house prices going up than there are for policies that might restrain the rate at which house prices keep going up.' Mr Eslake said the reason the housing crisis continued to worsen was 'because a majority of the population do not want it to be solved and politicians know that'. 'Until enough people my age, either out of an altruistic concern for the ability of their children and grandchildren to be able to do what they did, or perhaps more likely out of being pissed off at having to be the bank of mum and dad, until enough of them really want that to change, it isn't going to change.'
Perth Now
a day ago
- Business
- Perth Now
‘Crocodile tears': Warning over key change
It's now easier for Australians to buy a home, but a key change to credit limits could push up the price of housing, a leading economist warns. The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) announced on Thursday that Higher Education Loan Program (HELP) debts would be excluded from the credit limit for prospective homebuyers from September 30. Independent economist Saul Eslake told NewsWire that the change's two most obvious effects would be to 'allow some people who'd buy a home anyway to buy a more expensive one and (to) allow some people who wouldn't have been able to buy a home because of their student debt' to do so'. It's now a little easier to buy a home. NewsWire/ Gaye Gerard Credit: News Corp Australia 'The net effect of those two factors will be to increase the demand for housing,' he said. 'The likely result is that it will, along with other things that governments are doing, put further upward pressure on the prices of property.' Mr Eslake said the change meant some people would be able to enter the housing market more quickly than otherwise but 'it would come at the expense of others'. 'The primary beneficiaries of this change will be those who will already own property will be able to sell it to people at higher prices than otherwise,' he said. 'That's consistent with the 60 years of evidence that we have, going back to the first homeowners grant scheme introduced by the Menzies government in 1964 that tells us that anything that allows Australians to pay more for housing than they'd be able to otherwise results in more expensive housing and a smaller proportion of the population owning it.' Mr Eslake added it was 'obvious' the money saved on HELP debt cuts would now be going towards a more expensive house. Independent economist Saul Eslake says the government cries 'crocodile tears' for first-home buyers while introducing measures that increase housing prices. Chris Kidd Credit: News Corp Australia 'The reason that governments keep doing these things despite the evidence and despite all of the crocodile tears they routinely share about the difficulties faced by would-be first-home buyers is because they know that there actually aren't very many of them,' Mr Eslake said. 'On average, 110,000 a year, whereas there are 11 million people who own their own home. There are 2¼ million who own at least one investment property. That's an awfully much bigger number of votes for policies that keep house prices going up than there are for policies that might restrain the rate at which house prices keep going up.' Mr Eslake said the reason the housing crisis continued to worsen was 'because a majority of the population do not want it to be solved and politicians know that'. 'Until enough people my age, either out of an altruistic concern for the ability of their children and grandchildren to be able to do what they did, or perhaps more likely out of being pissed off at having to be the bank of mum and dad, until enough of them really want that to change, it isn't going to change.'
Daily Mail
04-05-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
Anthony Albanese to bailout millions of Aussies with student debt: How much you'll be getting
Anthony Albanese 's government will cut 20 per cent off all student loan debts, wiping around $16billion in student debt for around three million Australians. The policy - central to Mr Albanese's re-election campaign - is now set to be implemented following his election victory as of June this year. Under the plan, a graduate with an average student debt of $27,600 will see their loan reduced by $5,520, according to government figures. Mr Albanese's proposed reform would apply to all Higher Education Loan Program, Vet Student Loans, Australian Apprenticeship Support Loans and other income-contingent student loans. 'Our whole nation benefits when we make it easier for people to access education. This is about opening the doors of opportunity – and widening them,' Anthony Albanese previously said in a statement when announcing the plan. The reforms would also raise the threshold for repayment from $54,000 to $67,000 and lower the rate to be repaid. For someone on an income of $70,000 this will mean they will pay around $1,300 less per year in repayments. This builds on a $3billion policy introduced last year, which links student debt indexation to the lower of the wage price index or the consumer price index. Without it, graduates could have faced another steep increase, like in 2023, when indexation soared to 7.1 per cent - up from 3.9 per cent the year before - adding $1,759 to the average student debt of $24,770. How much your student debt will be wiped by is revealed in the table above Mr Dutton had vowed to scrap Labor's student debt relief if the Coalition had won Saturday's election, arguing its unfair on tradies who didn't go to university. Increasing its majority in parliament with a resounding victory, Labor has gained a second term in office with large swings across marginal electorates and in former Liberal heartland seats. With 71 per cent of the vote counted, Labor has won 85 seats with the coalition going backwards to sit on 37 seats, while 18 seats remain in doubt. Among the significant wins for Labor was Peter Dutton's electorate of Dickson, as he became the first opposition leader to lose his seat at an election. Treasurer Jim Chalmers said Mr Albanese will go down in history as a Labor hero following the result. 'This was beyond even our most optimistic expectations,' he told ABC's Insiders program on Sunday. 'It was a history-making night, it was one for the ages. 'This victory does come as well with healthy helpings of humility, because we know that there are a lot of challenges to address in our economy.' With expanded numbers in the House of Representatives, Dr Chalmers said Labor was able to implement its 'ambitious' agenda. 'One of the reasons why we got this big majority last night is because people recognise that if you wanted stability while the global economy was going crazy, then a majority Labor government was the best way to deliver that,' he said. The coalition crashed to its lowest-ever primary vote and could record a historic low number of seats, resulting in party soul-searching as the Liberals begin the process of electing a new leader.
