Posted by admin on 14 December 2011
Bees Nees team member Rob Honeycombe has been appointed to the board of the Real Estate Institute of Australia. Rob was recently re-elected to his position on the Queensland Institute and has been asked to represent the state as a director with the national body. Queensland’s Pam Bennett was recently elected President of the REIA and the board meets regularly in Canberra.
Rob says it’s an opportunity for Bees Nees clients to have a say. The REIA provides research and well-informed advice to the Federal Government, Opposition, the real estate profession, media and the public on a range of issues affecting the property market.
“There’s plenty of hot topics coming up as we inevitably move to a more national approach to property. The REIA is lobbying for a raft of changes including improvements to the supply chain for housing, and giving first home buyers access to their super. Scrapping state stamp duties might seem like a pie-in-the-sky concept but plenty of positive changes start that way.”
Tags: Real Estate Institute of Australia, Real Estate Institute of Queensland
Posted in property taxes and rates etc | No Comments »
Posted by Rob Honeycombe on 25 August 2010
The boost to the First Home Owner grant was an important part of the government response to the GFC in 2009 and there’s no doubt it kept that sector of the market moving. The boost finished but the grant remains at $7,000.
During this recent election campaign the Real Estate Institute of Australia was pushing for the grant to be permanently upped to $15,000, noting that a decade’s passed since the amount was set and in that time Australia’s median house prices have jumped from $220,000 to $519,000. So when introduced the grant was 3.2% of a home price and is now 1.5%.
The other idea the Institute has been running is for first home buyers to be able to access their voluntary superannuation (not employer contributed funds) to buy a home.
“The REIA proposes that a scheme be established which would encourage young Australians to contribute to voluntary superannuation by allowing access to these resources for the purposes of raising a deposit for a first home. The scheme would be an adjunct to the First Home Savers Account but would allow flexibility for the saver to decide whether all or part of the voluntary superannuation payments was needed to augment the home purchase.”
We remember visiting pollies in the mid 1990’s as part of an Institute push for policy change for a similar idea back then. Nothing changed and from what we can tell neither of the major parties have had much time for this idea now.
We’re not sure how many buyers would take advantage of it, but to have a great tax vehicle like super as the place to save for your home seems a great idea.
Your thoughts?
Tags: first home owners, First Home Owners Boost, Real Estate Institute of Australia, superannuation
Posted in Brisbane's sales market, property taxes and rates etc | 2 Comments »
