‘Make housing a priority from day one’: What the property industry wants after landslide election

The Labor federal government was re-elected with an increased seat majority and more authority on Saturday, with vote counting still underway and more than a dozen electorates still too close to call. 

During the election campaign, the Albanese government promised billions of dollars to help first-home buyers get onto the property ladder sooner and to build more homes. 

Now that the ALP government has secured a second term, Australia’s property industry has called on lawmakers to spare no second in fixing the country’s housing crisis.  

Housing Industry Association (HIA) managing director Jocelyn Martin called on the newly elected government to make housing a first-order priority from day one. 

“Any delay or political grandstanding will only deepen the nation’s housing crisis,” she said.  

“Access to a home - whether to rent or own - is becoming unattainable for too many Australians. This is a challenge that demands a major response in the first days and weeks of the new term of government.” 

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese raises his hands in victory with his fiancée Jodie Haydon and his son Nathan Albanese during the Labor Party’s election night event. Picture: Asanka Ratnayake/Getty

Housing affordability was a burning issue for voters throughout the campaign, with Australians demanding serious solutions to lower, or at least slow down, the rising cost of renting and buying a home.

Real Estate Institute of Australia (REIA) president Leanne Pilkington said the election underscored the importance of stable and practical housing policy.  

“Labor’s return to office comes with a strong mandate to tackle affordability and increase home ownership across the country,” Ms Pilkington said. 

“We welcome Labor’s emphasis on supply and affordability. Support for first-home buyers is a vital step toward bridging the generational divide in housing access.” 

Community Housing Industry Association (CHIA) chief executive Wendy Hayhurst said there was an urgent need for action on housing affordability, rental stress and homelessness.  

“We believe this term of government presents a real opportunity to accelerate recent progress in transforming Australia's housing landscape,” she said.  

“By working together, we can ensure that every Australian has access to a safe, stable and affordable home." 

The re-elected Albanese government will come under increasing pressure in its second term though. 

Voters will be waiting to see if Labor’s costly housing agenda from the past three years will deliver more homes and make housing more affordable in the years to come.  

Since it was first elected in 2022, the Labor government has promised to spend more than $43 billion on its housing agenda. 

Labor’s housing promises

The Labor government made a series of housing promises during the 2025 election campaign, including a $10 billion plan to build up to 100,000 new homes for first-home buyers. 

The plan would see the government seek out and put forward available commonwealth-owned land and then enable the states and territories to fast-track the development process. 

Other supply-side initiatives included a plan to provide $2 billion in concessional loans to state governments over four years to boost housing supply. 

Labor pledged to invest $78 million to fast track the qualification of 6,000 tradies to build more homes across Australia and promised to give $54 million to the prefabricated and modular housing industry in a bid to speed up home building.   

To help people get onto the property ladder sooner, the Albanese government vowed to invest another $800 million to expand its Help to Buy shared equity scheme, increasing the income caps and property price limits. 

The extra funding will increase the income caps from $90,000 to $100,000 for individuals and from $120,000 to $160,000 for joint applicants and single parents.  

The government also committed to expanding the Home Guarantee deposit scheme to allow more first home buyers to buy a home with just a 5% home deposit.  

Under the scheme, the government guarantees a portion of a buyer’s home loan so they can buy a home with a 5% deposit and avoid paying lender’s mortgage insurance (LMI). The expansion means there will be higher property price limits and no caps on places or income for buyers. 

To help first-home borrowers, the Labor government said it would soften home lending rules so that banks could exclude HECS student debts from mortgage applications in a bid to boost their borrowing power.  

During the campaign, the government introduced a two-year ban on foreign investors purchasing existing homes, which started last month. 

Labor has also pledged to make home batteries cheaper across Australia in a bid to cut power bills for homeowners.  

It promised to invest $2.3 billion to subsidise home battery installations across the country, reducing the price of home batteries for households, small businesses and community facilities by 30%.  

This was originally published on realestate.com.au as ‘Make housing a priority from day one’: What the property industry wants after landslide election