Real estate ‘gets real’

STAMP duty reform, property manager shortages, housing supply and affordability are at the heart of an agenda-setting report authored by the real estate sector’s peak body.

The Real Estate Institute of Australia has launched a strategic policy agenda ahead of the looming federal election titled Getting Real: Policy priorities for Australia’s real estate agents and agencies.

REIA president Adrian Kelly said the report provided a six-point blueprint to tackle housing’s big issues head on.

“Governments always want to know ‘what does industry want?’ and with our state institutes we have spent about 18 months making sure each of our policies are justifiable and costed – it’s not just a thought bubble,” he said.

“Getting Real is a vital resource for the government but also future governments; local, state, federal, and agents in our industry, too. One of the policies is having a national plan for housing, which we don’t have at the moment.

“Housing policy often only runs for one or two terms of government. But what the pandemic has proven is we have not been building enough homes for the last 20 years in most states.”

Mr Kelly said that while governments had policies around first-home loan deposit schemes and unlocking Crown Land, both of these issues were affected by planning.

“The fact that it still takes six to 12 months to get plans approved before you can put a shovel in the ground to build a house is nonsense,” he said.

“Tinkering around the edges is not good enough.”

Getting Real’s priorities include: URGENTLY address national property manager shortages through an innovative new national mentorship program.

SECURE bipartisan commitment on a national plan for housing supply and affordability and forming a national council of housing ministers under national cabinet.

PHASE out stamp duty nationally.

INCREASE holistic first-home buyer support, including advocating for free financial planning for Australians under 30.

RELEASE a white paper on the role of blockchain technology for real estate agents.

PULL more policy levers to encourage more “right-sizing” as Australia’s population ages.

The REIA estimates that the industry is about 10,000 property managers short of an ideal level of employment nationally.

On the hot-button stamp duty issue, Mr Kelly said most state governments put it in the too-hard basket.

“Stamp duty is a tax that not everybody pays but everybody gets the benefit from in terms of government spending,’’ he said.

“A land tax would be much fairer and cheaper.”