Canberra's first-home buyers and single parents struggling to get access to home ownership will have more options as the Commonwealth lifts price caps on a scheme to get them loans with a smaller deposit.
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From July 1, the Commonwealth's home guarantee scheme price caps will increase, the Prime Minister will reveal on Monday.
The ACT will see the country's largest increase in the scheme's price cap from $500,000 to $750,000.
The new price cap means most unit dwellings in the ACT will now be eligible for the scheme. Based on CoreLogic figures, the average unit price in Canberra is $594,992 while the median house price is $1.03 million.
ACT senator Zed Seselja said housing affordability was the top issue of concern he was hearing from Canberrans and had been lobbying Housing Minister Michael Sukkar to raise the price caps.
Senator Seselja said deliberate policy decisions from the ACT government to strangle available land supply for housing has seen prices skyrocket in recent years.
"I firmly believe owning your own home shouldn't be the unaffordable dream in the ACT," the Liberal senator said.
"Today's changes to the scheme are a game changer for thousands of young Canberrans looking to buy their first home."
Regional communities, where the scheme is expanded and opened to non-first homebuyers, and capital cities will see their area-specific caps lifted by between $50,000 and $150,000.
The city price thresholds apply to regional centres with a population over 250,000, including Newcastle and Lake Macquarie; Illawarra (Wollongong); Geelong; Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast.
The federal budget in March expanded the scheme, to allow 35,000 guarantees each year for eligible first-home buyers when purchasing a new or existing home with at least a five per cent deposit.
A further 10,000 guarantees each year will become available from October for eligible home buyers to purchase or construct a new home in regional areas.
Single parent families will have access to 5000 guarantees each year from July.
Scott Morrison said the scheme was helping tens of thousands of Australians cut years off the time they'd need to save a deposit for a home.
"We're building a stronger future for Australians by making home ownership easier by making more properties eligible for the scheme and expanding it to 50,000 places each year," the Prime Minister said.
"Saving to buy a house has always been hard work and we know as prices have increased it's been getting harder.
"That's why these higher price caps will help more people realise their dreams and lock in a stronger future for themselves."
WHERE THEY'RE SPLASHING CASH THIS ELECTION:
Mr Sukkar said that the adjusted price caps was a reflection of the difficulties of breaking into the housing market.
"We acknowledge how hard it can be to buy a new home or re-enter the housing market and that saving a deposit is the hardest part," he said.
"Because 41 per cent of scheme-backed loans are ahead of their pay back schedule, we are confident these adjusted price caps strike the right balance."
He said 60,000 Australians had already been supported into home ownership under the scheme.
"With our support, first-home buyers reached their highest levels in 12 years."
Harley Dennett
Former federal politics bureau chief for the Canberra Times, via a career that's taken me from rural Victoria to Washington DC. Telling the stories of my local LGBTI community brought me to political journalism, where I've covered eight budgets, four national elections in two countries, Defence, public service and international governance.
Former federal politics bureau chief for the Canberra Times, via a career that's taken me from rural Victoria to Washington DC. Telling the stories of my local LGBTI community brought me to political journalism, where I've covered eight budgets, four national elections in two countries, Defence, public service and international governance.
