Liberal backbencher Bruce Baird, chairman of a parliamentary inquiry into home lending practices, told The Australian yesterday he would investigate the phenomenon of people unwilling to live in suburbs in their price bracket.
"I've heard others say ... there's a wish to go for the McMansion and they want to be in nice suburbs, with ducted cleaning systems, airconditioning and plasma screens," he said.
But Queensland Liberal backbencher Steve Ciobo - who has been urging John Howard to consider doubling the first-home buyers' grant to $14,000 - strongly rejected the idea.
He said people were "self-regulating" but they also had a right to be "aspirational".
"I find it hard to believe that someone would say: 'No, I will not purchase a home because I want four bedrooms and four bathrooms but it's well out of my price bracket' when there's an opportunity to purchase something smaller, further away, within their price bracket," he said yesterday.
The Opposition is due to hold a national housing summit in Canberra on Thursday.
Several Coalition backbenchers have told The Australian they are concerned that Labor is "owning" the issue of housing affordability.
They said it was made worse by the fact the Coalition did not have a dedicated housing minister to develop ideas and take on the ALP.
Mr Baird said he had noticed resistance among home buyers to moving "out to other suburbs which are cheaper, where expectations are not quite as high".
However, Mr Ciobo said families did not need lectures: "From my perspective, it's like saying to people, well you shouldn't be aspirational.
"I don't think there's anything wrong with being aspirational."
Mr Baird said housing affordability would be a key issue in this year's federal election.
"The Government has done quite a bit in terms of the first-home owners' scheme, but it remains an issue."
He said his inquiry would investigate whether banks were to blame for lending people too much money.Source: The Australian
