He said the Coalition had consulted the property industry, arguing the aim was to help lift the number of people aged between 25 and 34 into a home. Loading "There has been a fall in the number of people who are first-home buyers in that particular age bracket and we are trying to stem that development by enabling younger people to get a foot in the door," Mr Frydenberg said. Mr Morrison later opened the door to expanding the policy when he suggested extra Commonwealth money could be used to guarantee loans if demand was greater than anticipated. The policy, under which some first-home buyers could take out a loan with a deposit of just 5 per cent, is currently capped to 10,000 people a year. More than 100,000 first time buyers have taken out mortgages over the past 12 months.

The Coalition said it would work with the National Housing Finance and Investment Corporation to determine "appropriate default rates" that may affect the scheme. Restrictions would be put in place to ensure first-home buyers remain owner-occupiers rather than landlords. Loading Labor promised to match the Coalition's policy within two hours of it being announced on Sunday and, like the Coalition, did not discuss that move with its full shadow cabinet. Opposition Leader Bill Shorten said Labor would not oppose a proposal because it had come from the government, adding the overall plan was small in its potential impact. "They've proposed a modest program, a restricted program which may potentially assist 10,000 people. We're not in the business of bagging every idea just because someone else has an idea, but if you want to tackle housing affordability it's only part of a much bigger picture," he said.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics reported on Monday the proportion of loans taken out by first time buyers was at a six-year high, with more than 8411 in March alone. Of that, 2,560 were in Victoria and 2,166 in NSW. Eray Saban, who hopes to buy his first home next year, said the policy will alleviate the need for young people to rely on others for help, although he is also now worried prices will rise as more first-home buyers vie for properties. For Eray Saban, owning a home has never looked more attainable. Credit:Jason South "On an average wage, it's pretty tough and it has been challenging thus far," the 26-year-old event manager said. "I think at the end of the day, it's a small dent in the pocket of a government but a great help for people like me wanting to enter the property market."

CoreLogic head of research Cameron Kusher argued the policy undermined the government's own policy of tighter lending standards because it sought to reduce the deposit needed. He said the policy would also only likely benefit those who were close to achieving a 20 per cent deposit as those struggling to save would also fail to meet other lending requirements such as being able to afford a sharp lift in interest rates. "This looks like it will help those who would probably almost have a deposit. But it probably won't help those who are locked out of the market for other reasons even with the government making up most of their deposit," he said. UBS senior economist George Tharenou said the proposal was so small it was unlikely to change the nature of the property market. "Positively, it could add up to $3 billion to loan demand, but is a tiny 1 per cent share of annual total home loans of $227 billion," he said.