Federal election 2025: Young voters react to Labor and Coalition’s competing first home buyer promises

Young voters say they will take whatever help they can get to secure a foothold on the property ladder, as they welcomed duelling policies on housing from the major parties.

Property experts have warned neither Labor nor the Coalition addresses the root cause of Australia’s housing crisis, after both put housing at the centre of their election campaigns on Sunday.

Labor has promised to build 100,000 new “affordable” homes exclusively for first home buyers and serve as a guarantor.

It will also expand the first home guarantee scheme to allow all first home buyers to purchase their first place with a 5 per cent deposit.

The Coalition has returned serve, promising to allow first home buyers of new houses to claim interest on mortgage repayments back at tax time for five years.

The Opposition’s policy is means tested for singles on incomes of up to $175,000 for singles and $250,000 for couples, and limited to the first $650,000 of the mortgage.

Friends Esther Murphy, Maddie McLean and Hannah McStay, all 24, agreed getting into the housing market was more important than relief once they were on the property ladder.

“I probably prefer Labor’s because a guarantor is quite handy,” Ms Murphy said in Leederville.

Ms McLean was drawn to Labor’s home-building scheme, expecting it could bring down prices.

Nima Ghasemi, 20, also thought that getting the initial deposit was the “first hurdle”.

Scott, 27, found both promises attractive and was ultimately undecided on whether Labor or the Coalition would help him the most.

“I would need to do the calculation on which one is going to be better for me,” he said.

Emily Zhang, 25, was also unsure, citing high interest rates as the main barrier to buying her first home.

“I’ve just graduated and I’m on a low income so it’s hard to put money aside to save,” she said.

But her friend Grape Ting, 25, preferred Labor’s plan.

“There’s not a lot of houses on the market, so whoever can put up the higher price gets picked,” she said.

Levi, 21, said he did not trust the Coalition to deliver on the issue.

“I find that their interests are helping current home buyers maintain the property wealth, and would prefer to just tinker around the edges, as opposed to really helping first time buyers,” he said.

He said he expected to buy a property to rent out while still living at home.

“Moving out of home and renting whilst trying to save up for a deposit is close to impossible these days,” Levi said.

AMP chief economist Shane Oliver expects both plans to be popular with young voters, but not so much with fellow economists.

“Economists probably won’t like either of them, because they boost demand without necessarily boosting supply,” he said.

Mr Oliver said the Coalition’s tax breaks would be a burden on the budget, while the Government’s plan would mean first home buyers are encouraged to take on more debt.

Neither policy addresses the fundamental issue driving the housing and affordability crisis

He is sceptical Labor’s new home program will boost supply as intended.

“In Australia, the current Government has had a plan to build 1.2 million homes over five years and there hasn’t been a lot of progress,” he said.

Mr Oliver does not believe either side is willing to make the big changes to bring down the price of houses.

“Both sides of politics want the votes of young voters, but they don’t want to rock the boat too much because then they risk losing the votes of Baby Boomers, Gen X and increasingly Millennials who are home owners,” he said.

Oliver Hume Property Group chief Julian Coppini described both party’s policies as “excellent, well-targeted ideas”, but said neither would fix the housing crisis

“Neither policy addresses the fundamental issue driving the housing and affordability crisis — the massive shortage of greenfield land on which to build new homes,” Mr Coppini said.

Property Council boss Mike Zorbas praised the balance between supply-side and demand stimulus in Labor’s plan.

He said the Coalition’s tax break proposal would give confidence to developers that demand would remain strong despite global uncertainty.

“Whoever forms government will need to apply additional direct incentives to boost state and local government supply and approval capacity, keeping the market in equilibrium, to build the homes the nation needs,” Mr Zorbas said.

Master Builders chief executive Denita Wawn praised both plans but said Labor’s lacked a strategy to ensure more skilled workers, while the Coalition’s failed to address rising construction costs.

“If we’re going to make housing more affordable and accessible, we need serious action to improve planning systems, streamline approvals, and lift productivity in the construction sector,” Ms Wawn said.

Insurance Council of Australia boss Andrew Hall warned that Labor’s policy of serving as a guarantor to all first homebuyers, including those on higher incomes and with savings, would effectively nationalise the lenders’ mortgage insurance industry.

“LMI insurers have played an important role in the stability of the financial sector and the economy for 60 years and any policy that may eliminate this needs to be considered very carefully,” Mr Hall said.