Higher loan limit wanted

Press, 21 July 1982, Page 14

Higher loan limit wanted

The Government’s housing package will do little to improve the. residential building trade, according to the Master Builders Federation.

The federation’s president (Mr Ron Lawton) said that although the industry welcomed the increase in the suspensory loan scheme (from $4OOO to $5000), it had hoped that the Government would raise the loan limit for those wanting to build new houses. The maximum loan available from the Housing Corporation to those wishing to buy established properties has been increased from $18,500 to $25,000, but for those intending to build it has been left at $25,000. Mr Lawton said that the effect of this provision would be to “increase the pressure

on existing stock" which might result in a loss of rental accommodation as flats were converted into family homes. The federation was pleased that some relief had been offered to low-income earners, he said, but doubted that it would be sufficient to solve their housing problems. “It is clear that many lowincome families and homeseekers are locked into high rentals and find it difficult to

save sufficient to bridge the deposit gap," he said.

While the increased familycapitalisation benefit (from $3OOO to $4000) would help households with children, many first-home seekers preferred to buy a home before starting a family, he said. The “flow-on effects” of the housing package might create some building work, Mr Lawton said, but it was likely to be concentrated at the upper end of the market.