The story of Australia’s housing policy over the past 25 years is one of governments doing all they can to juice demand for housing while steadily reducing the supply of public housing.

This trend continues as the latest housing finance figures suggest house prices are set to rise off the back of investors rushing into the market to beat the introduction of the 5% deposit scheme for first home buyers.

Whether it be the 50% capital gains tax discount and negative gearing that gives investors a leg up, or first home buyer grants that try to balance that bias, the big emphasis is always on the demand side of the equation.

And so the story continues with the 5% deposit guarantee for first home buyers that began on 1 October.

It’s a policy that notionally makes it easier for first home buyers to get a home loan. Mostly what it does is bring forward the number of first home buyers now bidding for properties. That increase in numbers has unsurprisingly led to many stories of surging loans and

© The Guardian