Mortgage brokers in Western Australia are cautiously welcoming the state government’s expanded Keystart program. But many say the updates barely scratch the surface of the state’s worsening housing crisis.
The Keystart revamp, part of WA Premier Roger Cook's Labor reforms, include low-deposit loans for modular homes and a $210 million shared equity scheme. The updated plan was announced earlier this month as part of a broader push to help more West Australians enter the property market.
But with basic living affordability deteriorating, housing supply lagging and property prices surging, some in the industry argue that the measures don’t go far enough.
"These are election winning promises that sound good, but they're sound bites at best," Nick Anderson, managing director at Perth-based Sonam Capital, told Australian Broker. "They're not actually anything of substance to really help people. And also, the issues here are on the supply side. These [initiatives] are creating bigger demand problems, which is not going to help us supply issues."
Anderson, a broker in both residential and commercial, said that the new Keystart measures will help "to a degree" — as do expanded stamp duty exemptions and concessions for first-home buyers. "It means people don't have to save as much money for the deposit," he said.
"But it also doesn't really activate that many properties for the first-time buyers," Anderson continued. "If you look at the depth of the market, you don't see many properties in that [lower end] price range. So it doesn't give many people that much of a leg up."
The seasoned broker added that the real issue lies in supply. And that government incentives without accompanying development reforms risk making problems worse.
"The state government will pat themselves on the back by saying we're freeing up land. But the issues we're seeing here are there's not enough supply," Anderson explained. "The red tape to actually develop properties is too big and there's not enough of them.
"And even things like, if someone's doing a land subdivision, it can take them up to two years to get electricity to the blocks there," he continued. "And nobody's going to buy a house without electricity. The state government needs to be looking at the whole supply chain here in order to facilitate improvements."
Meanwhile, Perth's housing market is still running red hot. In fact, even while a tight housing supply across WA, especially in the Perth metro area, is driving prices sky-high,Perth’s property market remains in high gear. According to CoreLogic, Perth’s home values rose 10% year-on-year to April 2025, with a median price of $807,728.
Anderson said the real figure could end up closer to 20% growth by year’s end.
“There’s still a lot of growth to be had in this market,” he said. “People need a place to live. We’ve got a lot of jobs here, but not a lot of places to live."
The supply crunch is evident across the state.
Anderson noted that there's increasing interest from East Coast investors, many of whom are lured by strong rental yields and capital gains potential, even in suburbs that may be less appealing to local buyers.
Maxine Farmer, founder and director of Maxon Finance said property prices in Western Australia are "just ridiculous."
“For a single person living in Perth — no different than Sydney — they cannot get into the housing market," she said.
Farmer — who is based in Wembley, WA, a suburb of Perth, and who specializes in first-home buyers — said Perth’s affordability has dramatically shifted in recent years. Properties are selling within days, often well above the asking price. Even clients with two full-time incomes are now struggling to qualify.
The broker recently listed a small villa that sold for $80,000 above the asking price within 48 hours, after receiving six offers from a crowd of 20 viewers. Meanwhile, an $8 million listing secured four offers in its first week.
"It doesn’t seem to be slowing down; places are doubling and land prices have just gone up," Farmer said. "A family on one wage can’t get into the market."
Adding to broker frustrations is the prevailing mindset among many local residents who prefer a home with land versus an apartment or modular setup. Farmer said these options have long struggled to gain traction in WA. And while the new policies might spark interest, they're unlikely to have an immediate impact.
"Most of what the state government has now is not affecting [local residents] because Perth people aren't big on apartments; they all want a piece of land," she explained. "In my client base, they’re not interested at all in modulars. I’ve probably had one person look at a modular home in 25 years.
"Keystart is excellent in WA, but it's getting to the stage where the government needs to up their limits even more," Farmer added."They're just dipping their toe in to see if [the program] gets momentum. And if it does, then maybe the banks will jump on board. But affordability is still a problem."
