Federal Member for Hume Angus Taylor said the timing was all wrong for Labor’s negative gearing changes which would push down the value of homes and hit the Hume economy hard.  Angus video >>

Mr Taylor said the construction and housing markets were critical to the success of the regional economy and local business owners were speaking out about Labor’s housing policy.

“If you’re worried about the impact of Bill Shorten’s tax on your house, don’t vote for Bill Shorten,” Mr Taylor said.

Picton businesswoman and former financial adviser Kylie Greffenius said Labor’s policy would attack the value of existing homes.

“Labor’s policy would encourage investors to construct, not to buy existing homes,” Ms Greffenius said.

“They’re going to offer negative gearing incentives and capital gains tax discounts only for investors who build new homes.

“What we would see happen under a Labor government, would be the investor market moving to construction in a huge way and this would drive down the value of existing properties. 

“Further, the first home buyer would not see a growing market for their property either.  Once they own their home, the value isn’t going to sky rocket because the buying market for their new home will only see limited growth.

“This region will always enjoy the benefits of a strong building industry because this is where the land is. We don’t need to take risky moves in order to stimulate the regional building sector,” Ms Greffenius said.

Mr Taylor said the Morrison Government’s First Home Loan Deposit Scheme would help first home buyers into their first home with a deposit as low as 5%.

“This is great news for first home buyers, but it’s also great news for Goulburn and Hume more generally because it will help to keep the housing industry going,” Mr Taylor said.

“That’s why our suite of policies we believe gets the balance right.”