Alice Springs Home Loan Policy Unveiled

Jodeen Carney, the Leader of the Opposition, and Matt Conlan, the CLP's candidate for Greatorex, have unveiled a policy overhauling the Martin Government's HomeNorth Shared Equity Loan scheme.

"Would-be home owners are being locked out of the housing market in Alice Springs and that's not fair for young families and not good for the long term future of our town,” says Ms Carney.

"The Martin Government's recent changes to HomeNorth's Shared Equity Loans actually reduced access to the scheme for people in Alice Springs. That's completely unacceptable.

"Add the sharp increase in house prices generally in the past few years and the effectiveness of the scheme has been greatly reduced.

"I'm proposing that the price cap on houses and the income cap on loans be removed and that the maximum Government equity be increased up to 40%.

"Further, we are opening up the provision of equity to all financial institutions – not just TIO as is currently the case - giving potential home buyers greater flexibility.

"These changes would be introduced in Alice Springs for 12 months, then their effectiveness assessed, before being extended Territory-wide.

"With the population of Alice in decline we need innovative policies to attract and keep people in the town. Buying a home is one of the best ways to put down roots in a community.

"I believe these changes will open up the possibility of home ownership to many people who are currently excluded by the restrictive nature of HomeNorth equity loans.

"Excluding families who earn more than $70,000 per annum and restricting purchases to houses less than 85% of the regional median market is too restrictive. Pricing caps for such loans have been shown to further raise property prices.

"Another crucial component of this scheme is balancing new land release supply and demand pressures.

"Equally, by insisting on a $70,000 cap as the Government's maximum share, some potential home owners are unfairly excluded.

"The other qualifications for eligibility, such as the property needing to be the principle place of residence, will remain in place.

"Other assistance for low income earners, such as low interest loans, will continue where appropriate.

"As someone who recently bought their first house, I'm well aware of the difficulties in getting into the market, and then the strain of meeting monthly mortgage repayments,” says Matt Conlan, CLP Candidate for Greatorex.

"Improving the HomeNorth equity loans scheme will give new homeowners extra breathing space in the difficult early period of home ownership.

"Better that the kids have a new bike at Christmas and a pair of footy boots to start the season than every last spare cent going to repay the home loan.”

2007-07-16