They are stifling prospective homebuyers, billionaire says
A real estate magnate is calling on the Reserve Bank to halt its rate increases, saying rising rates are keeping people off the property ladder.
Billionaire Harry Triguboff, founder of Meriton Apartments, said rate hikes have done nothing to reduce Australia’s skyrocketing inflation, which just hit 9.1% – the largest annual increase in more than 40 years. Triguboff also said the rate hikes are stymying the goals of prospective homeowners.
“Owning a house for people is very important,” he told The Australian. “Being owners of shares or super funds is not the same. A house is something the owners choose, enjoy and are attached to. How can one be attached to a piece of paper?”
Triguboff told the publication that since higher interest rates are making it harder to buy property, people aren’t even trying.
“They don’t buy, and they only pay rent and have more money to spend – hence, that is why retail spending and serviced apartments [prices] are still strong,” he said.
He also pointed out that the data the Australian Bureau of Statistics looks at to measure inflation accounts for house prices, which rose 5.6% in the quarter ended in June.
Conversely, he said, the price drops now being seen in the market will contribute to a reduction in inflation when the next quarter’s CPI index is released, The Australian reported.
Triguboff has also renewed his calls for the federal government to bring in more immigrants, saying Chinese buyers had helped boost prices for his apartment group over the past 40 years.
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“Foreign buyers have to be attracted again, because they create better prices,” he told The Australian. “At present, we are making it more difficult for them to buy.”
He also called for Australia to bring in more foreign students.
“They create a lot of rental demand and provide us with many workers besides studying,” Triguboff said. “Immigrants have to come. Migrants built this country … and we can’t stop it. We have a huge continent, and someone has to provide the labour.”
