iscover
iscover 
Housing stress has become a key concern for Australians and is likely to influence voting decisions this coming federal election, according to recent Money.com.au data.
Young voters are an important demographic that the parties will be looking to capture.
While cost of living remains the top concern for 59 per cent of Aussies, the next most pressing issue is home ownership, with 17 per cent of Gen Z and Millennials ranking it as their top concern.
Additionally, 11 per cent of Gen Z and 8 per cent of Millennials ranked rental affordability as their top concern.
According to Money.com.au’s property expert Mansour Soltani, the government can capture more young voters by introducing highly sought-after regulatory changes to help ease the burden of home ownership.
“For younger Australians in particular, housing affordability concerns may include expectations for more first-home buyer support and more flexible lending rules, like how lenders assess student loans or lowering the 3 per cent serviceability buffer for first-home buyers. There’s also growing interest in alternative pathways to ownership that reduce upfront costs like deposits and LMI,” said Soltani.
“Rent affordability concerns generally focus on tighter rental caps, increasing the supply of rental properties, and stronger protections for tenants, especially in high-demand metro areas.”
Unlike older generations, who placed reducing healthcare costs as the second-biggest concern, younger generations have placed housing challenges as a priority, while more traditional pain points have dropped.
For Gen Z and Millennials, healthcare costs were a top concern for just 4 per cent; superannuation, 4 per cent; energy and renewables, 3 per cent; and jobs and wages, 3 per cent.
The Albanese government’s federal budget and the Dutton government’s budget in reply each placed a strong emphasis on housing.
Introductions like the expansion of Help to Buy, the Home Guarantee Scheme, and changes to HECS-HELP debt were all major housing announcements to come from the Labor camp.
Meanwhile, the Coalition announced some big changes itself, such as access to superannuation for deposits, stricter migration to boost availability, and a variety of construction-related implementations.
With the same Money.com.au data revealing that since the last federal election in May 2022, rents have climbed 18 per cent and new builds at 14 per cent, it’s no surprise that some respite is top of mind for voters.
“This growing gap between wage growth and housing costs is putting immense pressure on young Australians, and it’s going to influence how they vote in 2025,” said Soltani.
The federal election is slated for 3 May. It’s likely that the party leaders will be holding some cards close to their chest.
Reports claimed there is still $1.52 billion left in the Labor “war chest” for election promises.
With this in mind, election time should see some further announcements from the parties as we lead up to the 3 May event.
[Related: Albanese confirms election date]
