A housing supply research council would be established if Labor wins power in the upcoming Federal election, a summit in Canberra was told today.
"The whole objective there is simply to provide better data for us all because we think that is the best way which you can shape public policy into the future," Labor Leader Kevin Rudd told the ALP-organised meeting.
The council would include representatives from state and territory governments, local government, Treasury, Reserve Bank, the housing property and finance sectors, welfare and community housing sector, as well as relevant research institutes.
"We want the best brains around to get the total data picture right," Mr Rudd said.
He said he did not want the summit to become an opportunity to blame the Government for problems in housing affordability.
"We would like to try and do what we can, through this summit today, to get the housing affordability question right," he said.
Property experts, economists, academics and business leaders joined state housing ministers at the conference inside parliament house today.
"Most of us accept the proposition that we do have a housing affordability crisis in the country," Mr Rudd said.
Mr Rudd said those attending the summit had to consider both demand and supply factors that were affecting housing affordability.
Supply issues included the impact of taxes, charges and levies.
Other factors included local government infrastructure for new housing developments, streamlining development approval processes, attracting investors to the affordable housing sector, and dealing with other cost pressures such as the skills shortage.
"On the demand side, of course interest rates are the topic of the day," Mr Rudd said.
The summit will also consider the best way to help first-home buyers enter the market, including a proposal for a deposit scheme.
Mr Rudd said more than one million households were in housing stress through rent and mortgages.
The number of first-home buyers as a proportion of all property purchasers had fallen from 22 per cent in 1996 to about 17 per cent today.
"All these indicators ... point to the fact that we have an emerging housing affordability crisis," Mr Rudd said.
The crisis was exacerbated by the 187,000 people on public housing waiting lists, he said.
Acting NSW Housing Minister Linda Burney she said issues like negative gearing needed to be considered but there were other more pressing issues.
"The more important thing for us today is to make it very clear that the way in which state and commonwealth relations have operated over the past 10 or 11 years is unsatisfactory," she said.
The Victorian and Northern Territory ministers agreed negative gearing should be discussed at the meeting.
"There are a number of proposals that have been floated around tax treatment, both negative gearing and some incentives for superannuation funds to get involved," Victorian Housing Minister Richard Wynne said.
"Those options should be considered."
Source: AAP
