5 Percent Housing Scheme Under Scrutiny as Prices Jump at Fastest Rate in Over 2 Years

Housing Minister O’Neil says boom reflects decades-long affordability crisis, vows new data to rebut claims scheme turbocharged prices.
5 Percent Housing Scheme Under Scrutiny as Prices Jump at Fastest Rate in Over 2 Years
A house under construction stands in front of newly built homes at a housing development located in the south-west Sydney suburb of Menangle Park in Australia on Feb. 20, 2025. David Gray/AFP via Getty Images
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Australia’s expanded first-homebuyer deposit scheme has triggered the sharp price reaction, with housing values experiencing a steep jump just one month after launch.

National prices climbed 1.1 percent in October, the fastest monthly rise in more than two years, outpacing Treasury’s own modelling, which forecast only a 0.5 percent lift spread over six years from the policy.

Naziya Alvi Rahman
Naziya Alvi Rahman
Author
Naziya Alvi Rahman is a Canberra-based journalist who covers political issues in Australia. She can be reached at [email protected].