2012 federal budget criticised by property pundits

Property industry experts are disappointed with the recently announced federal budget, positing that it does not account for residential housing difficulties facing the country.

The Housing Industry Association (HIA) claims that the 2012 federal budget failed to address housing shortages, real estate affordability and weakness in the construction industry.

HIA’s senior economist Andrew Harvey referred to the decision as a missed opportunity.

“At a time when new home building is in decline in virtually every state and territory, the budget has failed to deliver any new measure to reinvigorate the home building sector, despite the sector’s health being absolutely crucial to a healthy domestic economy,” he said.

The Residential Development Council (RDC) was similarly displeased with the 2012 federal budget, directing its main criticisms towards the affordability issue.

RDC executive director Caryn Kakas expressed concern that housing was not given due consideration in the allocation of resources.

“We need to ensure an adequate supply of affordable homes for our most vulnerable citizens and across our communities,” she said.

Ms Kakas referenced a broad group of residents affected by the absence of funding.

“The budget also ignores the plight of Australians who rent their homes,” she said.

While the federal budget has received criticism for failing to address key aspects of the property industry, certain states have been lauded for their fiscal allocations.

Victoria, for example was commended for providing $5.8 billion to infrastructure investment and enacting stamp duty cuts for first-time homebuyers.

The Victorian budget was described by the Property Council of Australia as responsible in a time of economic uncertainty and the best way to approach existing financial challenges.

General sentiment among these organisations is that the property industry is central to the economic well-being of the nation as a whole.

By Steve McKnight

Steve McKnight, the founder of PropertyInvesting.com, is a respected property investing authority as well as Australia's #1 best-selling business author.