‘Bad enough now’: Property investor tax breaks soaring to $22 billion a year by 2035

Original article by Matthew Elmas
The New Daily – Page: Online : 2-Jul-24

Parliamentary Budget Office data has revealed that property investors received $85 billion in tax breaks over the decade between 2014-15 and 2023-24. The PBO also found that the cost of negative gearing and capital gains discounts will jump to $165 billion over the next decade, with tax breaks to property investors to be worth $22 billion a year by 20235. Australia Institute senior research fellow David Richardson claims that property tax breaks will continue to push up property prices, with Richardson noting things are "bad enough now; he notes the cost of a median house in Sydney is around 13.5 times annual average weekly earnings.

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AUSTRALIA. PARLIAMENTARY BUDGET OFFICE, THE AUSTRALIA INSTITUTE LIMITED

Australian capital cities rank among world’s least affordable markets to buy a home

Original article by Clint Jasper
abc.net.au – Page: Online : 14-Jun-24

The Chapman University Frontier Centre for Public Policy examined housing markets in 94 cities in eight countries in terms of their affordability for middle-income buyers. Hong Kong, Sydney and Vancouver were rated as the most unaffordable markets for those buyers, while Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, Brisbane and Perth all sit in the least affordable 25 per cent of cities The study concluded that the leading cause of unaffordable housing in the cities it studied were land use policies that artificially restrict housing supply, pushing up land prices, while it pointed to Singapore’s success in transforming a "desperate housing situation" in the 1960s to one of the most affordable markets in the report.

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CHAPMAN UNIVERSITY

House prices bounce in prestige suburbs

Original article by Nila Sweeney
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 31 : 22-May-24

Data from CoreLogic shows that house prices in some of the more expensive suburbs in Sydney and Melbourne rose by up to seven per cent in the three months to April. The median house price in Sydney’s upper north shore suburb of Gordon increased by 7.1 per cent, after falling by 1.4 per cent in the previous three months. Melbourne suburbs that recorded strong price growth include Kew East, Brighton and Camberwell. Tim Lawless from CoreLogic says it is not surprising that house prices in premium suburbs have risen, given that they have fallen in recent months.

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CORELOGIC AUSTRALIA PTY LTD

Labor to crack down on dirty money for homes

Original article by Campbell Kwan
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 31 & 32 : 7-May-24

The federal government is set to expand money-laundering reporting obligation laws to cover real estate agents, lawyers and accountants, with the potential that 100,000 extra entities will have reporting obligations if the legislation is passed. However, the Real Estate Institute of Australia claims that expanding money-laundering obligations to cover real estate agents would impose an overwhelming burden on them, and that the legislation should instead expand the reporting obligations of land registry bodies. It contends that not all real estate transactions are handled by real estate agents.

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THE REAL ESTATE INSTITUTE OF AUSTRALIA LIMITED

Labor to crack down on dirty money for homes

Original article by Campbell Kwan
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 31 & 32 : 7-May-24

The federal government is set to expand money-laundering reporting obligation laws to cover real estate agents, lawyers and accountants, with the potential that 100,000 extra entities will have reporting obligations if the legislation is passed. However, the Real Estate Institute of Australia claims that expanding money-laundering obligations to cover real estate agents would impose an overwhelming burden on them, and that the legislation should instead expand the reporting obligations of land registry bodies. It contends that not all real estate transactions are handled by real estate agents.

CORPORATES
THE REAL ESTATE INSTITUTE OF AUSTRALIA LIMITED

Brisbane on track to be second-most expensive city

Original article by Mackenzie Scott
The Australian – Page: 3 : 1-May-24

Data from PropTrack shows that the median house price in Brisbane rose by nearly three per cent to $818,000 in the first four months of 2024. Brisbane now boasts Australia’s third-highest median house price, and Eleanor Creagh from PropTrack says the Queensland capital is likely to surpass Canberra if the current momentum in house price growth is sustained. Creagh notes that Brisbane has been one of the strongest housing markets since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. She says factors such as interstate migration and a limited supply of homes on the market have contributed to the price growth.

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PROPTRACK PTY LTD

First-timers, low earners in housing crunch

Original article by Nila Sweeney
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 31 : 17-Apr-24

A report from the ANZ Bank shows that the average proportion of income that is needed to service a new mortgage rose to 48.9 per cent nationwide in the March quarter; this compares with 43.1 per cent during the same period in 2023. The ANZ Housing Affordability report also reveals that it now takes an average of 10.3 years to save enough money for a house deposit. Meanwhile, ANZ found that the average renter must now allocate 32.2 per cent of their income to rent; this rises to 54.3 per cent for low-income earners.

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AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ

Unit values outpace houses in half of suburbs

Original article by Nila Sweeney
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 32 : 3-Apr-24

Data from CoreLogic shows that growth in apartment prices outpaced detached homes in 633 out of 1,168 suburbs across Australia in the March quarter. This includes 77 per cent of Brisbane suburbs, 54 per cent of suburbs in Sydney and 50 per cent of Melbourne suburbs. Tim Lawless of CoreLogic says the outperformance of apartments could be sustained in the near- to medium-term, due to factors such as housing affordability and supply constraints. Buyer’s agent Amanda Gould says high interest rates are prompting some clients to opt for an apartment rather than a detached dwelling.

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CORELOGIC AUSTRALIA PTY LTD

Rate pause could lure home buyers back

Original article by Nila Sweeney
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 30 : 20-Mar-24

Tim Lawless of CoreLogic says the Reserve Bank of Australia’s decision to leave the cash rate unchanged on Tuesday is likely to boost the confidence of prospective home buyers. He notes that there has tended to be a close relationship between consumer sentiment and the volume of home sales. Meanwhile, SQM Research MD Louis Christopher expects mortgage stress to continue to rise while interest rates remain high, while the number of distressed listings is also likely to rise.

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CORELOGIC AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, SQM RESEARCH PTY LTD, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA

New house pipeline at near-12 year low

Original article by Michael Bleby
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 31 : 5-Mar-24

Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics shows that approvals for new detached homes fell by 9.6 per cent month-on-month in January, to the lowest level since mid-2012. Approvals for apartments, townhouses and semi-detached homes fell by 22 per cent. Tamawood CEO Robert Lynch says the house construction market has most likely reached its bottom; however, he cautions that factors such as high interest rates mean that a rebound may take some time. He adds that sales activity in the more affordable segment of the housing market – in which Tamawood specialises – is likely to recover first.

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AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS, TAMAWOOD LIMITED – ASX TWD