Affordable Housing

The Hon. A. PICCOLO (Light) (14:16): My question is to the Minister for Housing and Urban Development. Can the minister update the house on the implementation of the government's Affordable Homes Program?

The Hon. S.C. MULLIGHAN (Lee—Minister for Transport and Infrastructure, Minister for Housing and Urban Development) (14:16): I thank the member for Light for his question and his interest in this area. Housing affordability is an important priority for this government and it is one of great concern for a lot of South Australians, particularly in these current times, as we have gone through a period of significant volatility—

Mr Knoll: You obviously didn't get the memo.

The SPEAKER: I call the member for Schubert to order.

Mr Knoll interjecting:

The SPEAKER: And I may have to enforce that by visiting Tanunda and Angaston and Nuriootpa on Sunday, so he can take that as notice. The minister.

The Hon. S.C. MULLIGHAN: Thank you, Mr Speaker, for giving the residents of those areas the representation that they have craved for the last three years. Housing affordability is incredibly important and it has been a priority for this government. In 2007, the then minister for housing made an announcement about a program to give low income households the ability—

Mr Knoll interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The member for Schubert is warned.

The Hon. S.C. MULLIGHAN: —to purchase affordable homes prior to these homes being listed on the open market for sale. The Affordable Homes Program was established and it has been operating over the last 10 years. The aim of the program is to provide eligible people access to lower cost housing options which include newly built homes, house and land packages, as well as former Housing Trust properties. To be eligible, purchasers need to meet certain criteria, which include income limits of less than $75,000 per annum for a single person or $95,000 per annum for a couple. There are also asset limits, of course, and you need to be a resident of South Australia in order to access the program.

Affordable homes that meet the necessary price and quality requirements are listed exclusively for a set period of time and are only marketed to eligible people through popular sites such as realestate.com.au or domain.com.au. There are price caps: $255,000 for most country locations, which is only fractionally lower than the median house price in country locations; $320,000 for Greater Adelaide; and $368,000 for houses which have energy and water-saving features and are close to public transport.

Areas where affordable homes have been bought include developments in metropolitan areas, such as Bowden, Lightsview and Playford Alive, where high-quality affordable home ownership is encouraged, and, of course, across the state—both in metropolitan Adelaide and in regional areas—where eligible people have been able to access homes within those valuation thresholds. In the decade that this program has been running, the statistics show that the program has been successful in assisting people to purchase their home and establish themselves as homeowners and also as members of their community.

Since the program's inception in 2007, more than 2,000 homes have been sold through the Affordable Homes Program and, pleasingly, of the 2,000 people who have purchased homes through the program just under 85 per cent of those people who originally bought one of these qualifying properties still own that home today. It goes to show that helping people into home ownership enables them to establish their home and stay within that home for some time.

At the moment, Renewal SA operates the Affordable Homes Program and is participating in this important process of getting South Australians into home ownership. They are also the agency administering the Renewing Our Streets and Suburbs program, which is helping South Australian homebuilders, construction firms and tradespeople to access a record investment in Housing Trust properties and redevelopments and supporting, I am advised, 1,600 jobs throughout the course of that program. That involves the 1000 Homes in 1000 Days as well as the significant redevelopments or renovations to a further 4,500 properties.

I should also mention that HomeStart Finance has played a key role in helping people into home ownership, with more than 67,000 South Australians assisted into home ownership through that program—one other way on top of things like the First Home Owner Grant and the stamp duty assistance for apartments in the city where we are helping people into affordable homes.