Ray White Managing Director Dan White congratulated Treasurer Josh Frydenberg on his first Federal Budget which he called a welcome ‘shot in the arm’ confidence boost for all Australians.
Some 10 million Australians will be showered with $158 billion in tax cuts, with the average earner saving $10,000 over six years.
The pre-election Budget supercharges rewards for workers, small business, older Australians, women and youth plus a promised $100 billion infrastructure bonanza.
“The Coalition’s tax relief promises are welcome and will be a shot in the arm to every household in Australia,” Mr White said.
“A strong economy needs ongoing investment and we are delighted to see the Coalition boost its infrastructure spending to unlock our regions and help ease congestion in our cities.
“This Federal Budget and its growth projections are heavily reliant on our already softer housing market holding up.
“But no-one in Treasury has a calculator that can accurately predict house prices.
"That is the great unknown in this budget and easing house prices are clearly Treasury’s economic wildcard.
“Ray White remains optimistic about the Australian housing market but we hope the Government keeps its focus on the housing sector and is ready with a contingency plan if their assumptions and forecasts aren’t met."
The Budget papers highlight the downside risk of a further deterioration in housing prices on dwelling investment and household consumption, noting that if consumption dropped one per cent as a result, this would shave a quarter of a per cent from GDP growth.
Treasury says new dwelling investment will only grow 0.5 per cent this year, before dropping by 7 per cent in 2019-20 and a further 4 per cent in 2020-21 as existing projects are completed.
