The eighth and final hearing of the Greens-led Senate inquiry into intergenerational housing inequity, held in Canberra today, heard evidence that the big four banks are big winners in the housing crisis while renters and first homebuyers lose out.
The committee heard that rent is outpacing wage growth, with many more people renting today than 30 years ago because it takes much longer to save for a deposit.
It also heard that the big four banks made over $30 billion dollars in net profit in the last financial year (CBA $11 billion, Westpac $6.9 billion, NAB $6.759 billion, ANZ $5.9 billion).
Over the life of an average 30 year owner-occupier mortgage, the big four banks make nearly $229,000 in profit.
The Greens say the banks are doing well at everyone else’s expense and that’s on Labor.
As stated by Greens spokesperson for finance, housing and homelessness and Senator for South Australia, Barbara Pocock:
“Despite house prices coming down, the housing market is still cooked – because Labor’s still putting corporate profits ahead of renters and first homebuyers. We heard today how the big banks are making billions off the housing crisis, while homeowners and renters lose out.
“While people with a mortgage are facing yet another rate rise, and rents keep soaring, the big banks aren’t feeling the pain.. The big four banks – CBA, NAB, Westpac and ANZ – made a profit of $30 billion dollars in the last financial year.
“Meanwhile renters across the country face astronomical rent prices and low vacancy rates, with many renters just one rent hike away from losing everything. Because renters don’t have a buffer, they are the buffer for landlords. That’s why the Greens have been calling for rent caps to protect renters from unfair rate hikes.
“What stands out in this inquiry are the numerous layers of housing inequity, both intergenerational and intragenerational, and how governments just don’t care about renters and the growing number of people sleeping rough.
“The housing system we have, created by successive Labor and coalition governments, was deliberately designed to benefit corporate greed, the banks, property developers and investors, not ordinary people simply trying to get by.
“A 4% fall in house prices is very little comfort to a first homebuyer. It is nowhere near enough when we look at the long trajectory of a 400% increase in house prices in so many Australian cities and regional towns in the last 30 years.
“Tax changes alone were never going to cut it. Labor needs to take on corporate greed in the housing market by taxing big corporations, build more public homes like Australia used to, and end grandfathering for wealthy property investors.
“Millions of households are doing it tough, while the banks profit on the housing crisis, and Labor is making it worse.”
