Super funds to solve the housing crisis?

Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia (ASFA) chief executive Mary Delahunty said at the Australian Shareholders' Association Conference yesterday that addressing the supply side of the housing crisis requires an infusion of private capital.

Delahunty explained that private capital can come from institutional investors such as superannuation funds, wealth managers, and philanthropy, all of whom need investable projects. However, she noted that the creation of these investable projects hinges on factors like lending criteria, planning regulations, and state-based regulations, which is why housing is such a "vexed issue."

To unlock housing supply at a faster rate, she said institutional investors need to be "equity providers."

"How do you get that risk-return profile to match up when you're looking at housing affordability when you're looking at holding property or land for a long time; that increases the risk when you don't have consistency in planning regulations," she said.

"These are complex issues that the parliament has turned its mind to, which is fantastic. But in ASFA's opinion and the research that we've done, this is an issue that needs all the attention on the supply side instead of pulling on the demand lever, especially for first homeowners.

"It doesn't work and it's not fair."

Delahunty added that she feels "our generation has done a disservice to the youth," lamenting that we're now having serious conversations about asking them to choose between their retirement savings and buying a home.

While acknowledging that solving the housing crisis won't be easy, Senator Andrew Bragg, speaking on the same panel at the conference, said that the Liberal Party opposes a "corporate housing policy."

Although the Liberal Party has not yet announced a "supply policy," Bragg said that on the demand side, they believe people should be able to use their own money to purchase their first home.

"Where super funds and foreign fund managers are given tax concessions to participate in what's known as build to rent and then they own these properties and then they rent them out to Australians, like we're serfs. We want to make sure the millennials and Gen Z kids can own their own house," he said.

Bragg said that the key determinant of success in retirement is not a superannuation balance, but homeownership status. He noted that baby boomers principally used their houses as a savings vehicle since they didn't have superannuation, and that generation has managed well.

"This is going to be a contested debate, but ultimately, we think that if you can find a way to get people onto the property ladder, that's going to be the key for them," he said.