Aspiring first time home-owners should be allowed to use salary sacrifice as a reward for saving for a deposit on their home, according to the Housing Industry Association (HIA).
The HIA has called for the establishment of a national Home Super Saver scheme to “enable wage earners to use their superannuation accounts to make additional voluntary contributions that can then be used as a deposit for a home”.
Managing director Ron Silberberg said the scheme would provide first home-buyers with “tangible rewards for saving for a deposit on their home at a time when housing affordability is at a record low”.
“Rewarding aspiring first home-buyers who are saving for a deposit on their home is a practical way to reduce reliance on debt and assist more young Australians to mover into their own home.”
He added that the “infrastructure exists to be able to link superannuation and home ownership”, and that a number of super funds would “jump at the chance” to provide a differentiated product that would have real appeal, especially to young Australians.
Under the proposed Home Super Saver scheme, a household with a combined income of $100,000 saving an additional 6 per cent in super would have an extra $32,800 for a deposit after five years.
Savings of this amount would provide for an 11 per cent deposit for the national median first home price, increasing to 12 per cent with the addition of the First Home Owners Grant, the HIA said.
