Liberals win land rats’ backing

The Victorian Labor and Liberal parties are attempting to profit from young voters’ disquiet over housing unaffordability by making the problem worse.

Both promise to maintain the inflationary first home buyers’ grant, that pushes up prices and, because for every dollar in the deposit banks will loan another nine, greatly increases the amount of debt into which young homebuyers are forced.

And then, to make it worse, both big parties have announced similarly inflationary cuts to stamp duty. Labor, to be fair, is only looking at abolishing it in the regions, which will have a positive effect of helping reduce demand in the cities – but only if it builds decent infrastructure in those regional centres, particularly public transport. Which it hasn’t so far.

Meanwhile, the Liberals want to cut stamp duty in half, thereby massively inflating house prices around the state – good news for investors, bad news for those trying to enter the market.

Want confirmation of which deal is worse for young people giving up on the idea of home ownership?

The Real Estate Institute of Victoria has given its tick to the Coalition.

What a damning indictment.

It should be immediately apparent to pretty much every home-buyer that what is good for the land rats is not good for them.

And yet the Liberals think this policy will win them votes. Not just from the investors and real estate agents who’ll really profit from it, but from its victims. They genuinely think they can get the young to buy and eat this utter sh*t sandwich, that their allies in the media can persuade them that, actually, it’s a gastronomic delight…

Two big parties, both determined to exacerbate what is an increasingly serious problem. It’s a bloody tragedy.

ELSEWHERE: Treasury is getting concerned about the “bubble”.