2025 federal budget: What it means for the real estate industry

“We are tackling the housing shortage from every responsible angle, making homeownership more affordable for young Australians and for young families in particular,” Chalmers said.

“Our $33 billion plan will help build 1.2 million new homes before the decade is out.”

REB breaks down what this year’s budget means for real estate:

Help to Buy scheme expansion

The Labor Government has extended its Help to Buy initiative, aligning the scheme with growing incomes and property prices.

The budget introduced $800 million to be invested into the shared equity scheme to expand the program from $5.5 billion to $6.3 billion.

Over the next four years, the Help to Buy Scheme is expected to enable 40,000 eligible first-time homebuyers nationwide to participate by contributing a minimum 2 per cent deposit while covering costs like stamp duty.

The revised scheme’s income caps for participants will also be raised from $90,000 to $100,000 for individuals and from $120,000 to $160,000 for joint applicants and single parents.

Price caps around eligible properties were also increased and linked to the average house price in each state and territory, rather than dwelling prices, to provide first-home buyers with more market choices.

Chalmers said that these revisions are part of the government's efforts to “help ensure more Australians can buy a place of their own”.

“We will update the property price and income caps, so more first home buyers are eligible for the scheme, and this will help 40,000 Australians buy their first home in the next four years,” Chalmers said.

“The changes mean that they can access a bigger range of homes and buy one that suits them,” he added.

As part of the expanded program, the government will provide first-time homebuyers with an equity share of up to 40 per cent of the purchase price for new homes and 30 per cent for existing homes.

The scheme has yet to launch, with applications anticipated to open later this year, contingent on the government's re-election.

Boost in prefabricated and modular home construction

In a bid to tackle Australia’s housing crisis and build the National Housing Accord of 1.2 million homes by 2029, the budget has allocated $54 million to the construction industry to deliver more “efficient construction methods”.

“This includes $54 million to accelerate the uptake of modern methods of housing construction, which is all about building more homes more quickly,” Chalmers said.

In total, $49.3 million will be used to help state and territory governments support local programs around prefabricated and modular home construction.

The remaining $4.7 million will be directed towards creating a voluntary national certification process for offsite construction to streamline approvals while ensuring high-quality standards are upheld.

“It supports our work to cut red tape and reduce financial barriers to more efficient construction methods,” Chalmers said.

New Key Apprenticeship Program for tradies

The federal government also aims to tackle the housing crisis by having a steady stream of qualified tradies and encouraging construction apprentices to hone their trades through cash incentives.

From 1 July 2025, eligible tradie apprentices will receive $10,000 throughout their studies to encourage more young Australians to work in the housing construction industry.

The treasurer said the apprenticeship program will help tackle the housing shortages and ensure Australia has the workforce needed to deliver its National Housing target of 1.2 million new homes over the next 5 years.

“We know that we also need to train more builders,” Chalmers said.

“That's why we're attracting more apprentices into the housing industry by doubling incentive payments if they train up in the housing construction sector.”

In addition, construction employers with apprentices in priority occupations might be eligible for up to $5,000 through the Priority Hiring Incentive, which has been extended for an additional six months, until 31 December 2025.

Ban on foreign investment

As part of the government’s $33 billion plan to make housing more affordable and to ensure more Australians have access to the property ladder, the federal government has issued a two-year ban on foreign investors from buying established homes beginning April 1, 2025.

“We're raising pressure on the housing market by banning foreign investors from buying established homes and cracking down on foreign land banking as well,” Chalmers said.

The Treasurer announced a total of $5.7 million for the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) to enforce the ban on foreign nationals purchasing established homes.

An additional $8.9 million will be allocated to the ATO to tackle land banking by foreign buyers and ensure that vacant land is put to productive use within a specified timeframe.

Energy bill relief package

The budget also included an extension of last year’s energy bill relief, which gave households and eligible small businesses a $300 rebate.

This year, the amount was halved, with Australians now expecting a $150 energy rebate automatically applied to their electricity bills every quarter, from July 1st.

The cost of energy bill relief is estimated to be $1.8 billion over the duration of the scheme.