Housing now an investor’s playground   
2026-02-20
greens.org.au
New analysis today by ACOSS shows property investors are buying almost twice as many homes as first-home buyers, thanks to government tax breaks.

The analysis shows that the average property investor loan is around $100,000 larger than the average loan taken out by a first-home buyer, which guarantees investors a leg up at auctions.

The Greens say Labor’s tax breaks are directly responsible for investor advantage and have effectively created an investor playground that leaves first-home buyers behind.

Lines attributable to Greens spokesperson for finance, housing and homelessness Senator Barbara Pocock:

“Australia’s housing market has become an investor’s playground.

“Every time you crunch the numbers it gets worse and worse and that’s because of Labor.

“It’s no wonder that property investors bought twice as many homes as first-home buyers in the most recent December 2025 quarter.

“Labor’s tax breaks are directly responsible for investor advantage, giving first-home buyers no chance at auctions.

“It’s shameful that in the midst of a housing crisis, property investors get to treat the housing market like a game of monopoly, while first-home buyers and renters sigh in disbelief.

“The CGT discount and negative gearing are pushing up house prices, leaving renters and first-home buyers behind.

“Labor cares more about rewarding property investors with tax breaks than it does about building good quality homes at prices people can actually afford to rent or buy.

“The government must scrap the tax breaks for wealthy property investors. Labor has an opportunity to fix the housing crisis — but if they keep dodging real reform, they’ll lock a whole generation out of ever owning a home.”

"now"

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-10-13/enviornment-and-corruption-concerns-raise...

“ The former Supreme Court judge said it was "deceitful" to suggest the laws related only to housing.

"Over the last 20 years, we have seen in NSW numerous examples of very serious corrupt conduct involving developers and others, interacting improperly with government ministers or senior officials to corruptly line their pockets," he said.”

I wonder if his referring to  “Seriously corrupt “ Glady government or Kristina  “ mean girl “ Keneally “most corrupt government since the rum rebellion “or perhaps both?

Does  One Nation have a housing policy?

Daves2017 wrote on Feb 20^th, 2026 at 11:56am:


Yes: get rid of the tax breaks for rent-seeking investors, and rebuild the nation's public housing stock, since private housing is now unaffordable for workers on the average wage.

thegreatdivide wrote on Feb 20^th, 2026 at 12:19pm:


Please give us all these "tax breaks", you know nothing to do with expenses or any of that rot.

you sure are obsessed with "the greens"

freediver wrote on Feb 20^th, 2026 at 1:15pm:


No.

The Greens want to rebuild public housing; they are aware that decades of Thatcherite 'small government'  Neoliberalism has destroyed the 'Oz Dream' caused by encouraging housing as an investment vehicle for rent-seekers, rather than by maintaining affordable housing to live in. 

thegreatdivide wrote on Feb 20^th, 2026 at 3:07pm:


So they can claim expenses against their investment.

lee wrote on Feb 20^th, 2026 at 4:09pm:


Exactly: why should rent-seekers be able to claim expenses against their investment, to reduce their overall tax liability?

freediver wrote on Feb 20^th, 2026 at 6:10pm:


No, but the topic is housing investment, and I have just shown you the exorbitant privilege accruing to Oz rent-seekers (aka as "investors") , which is distorting the housing market.

Housing investors in Australia access unique tax benefits, primarily through negative gearing, which allows them to offset rental losses (where expenses exceed income) against their salary or other income, reducing their overall tax liability.

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No, that's not why I "typed google" , but we can see  - unlike google -  YOU have no idea what you are talking about....  hence you can't critique the answer to your question about tax-advantaged investment.

At least lee had a shot - but he put his foot in his mouth, defending tax-advantaged 'investment' by rent-seekers.

Just like you simply ignored the fact Menzies, in the Keynesian deficit spending era,  ensured housing building costs and retainprices were affordable by average wage earners.

Keep demonstrating how your 'small government'/"other people's money" (ie 'taxpayer money' according to Thatcher) blind ideology cripples your brain.

Bobby. wrote on Feb 20^th, 2026 at 3:23pm:


Correct.

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So we need CONTROLLED immigration which increases the intake of builders - unless you want the Oz population to shrink:

(google)

Australia's population would likely shrink without immigration. With a fertility rate of roughly 1.6 to 1.7 babies per woman—well below the replacement rate of natural population growth (births minus deaths) is insufficient to maintain current levels

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Correct. Albo  is attempting to correct it, with free TAFE and incentives for building apprentices - which the 'small government' ideologues in the Coal-ition voted against.

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Correct...don't tell lee or FD, you can see their responses above.

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Yes,  red tape should be minimized, while ensuring standards are maintained; and government charges often arise because of misconstrued budgetary concerns.

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Partly correct: Labor at least offers some government investment (though woefully inaquate, eg the HAFF) , but is constrained by the same Thatcherite 'small government' BS as the Conservatives.

freediver wrote on Feb 21^st, 2026 at 11:03am:


Housing investors ie rent seekers, NOT first home buyers who want a place to live in for life, rather than as a money making investment -  in Australia access unique tax benefits.

How difficult is that to understand (other than by a blind, crippled-brain 'small government' ideologue?)

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You already said that, without explaining the "error" in the google quote.

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....primarily through negative gearing, which allows them to offset rental losses (where expenses exceed income) against their salary or other income, reducing their overall tax liability.

Simple plain english; these benefits combined with CGT discount  are rarely available outside Oz.

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By incentivizing  rent-seeking "investors", rather than 1st home buyers who don't want to become rent seekers,  but want an add affordable  house to live in, into the market.

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No -  because the above arguments  are irrefutable, except by self-interested "freedom" ideologues who are happy to see an increase in the rent-seeking class in Oz, therby condemning more Aussies to the status of renter-serfs for life  (in the absence of affordable rents in public housing).   

Landlord upset in Victoria :

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/Gz0C197DUTM

thegreatdivide wrote on Feb 21^st, 2026 at 11:47am:



Perhaps you can share any "intelligence" you may have. The CGT discount is in place of phantom gains. due to inflation. If you sell something and then buy again you have to pay the new "market price", not the previous price before inflation.

freediver wrote on Feb 21^st, 2026 at 1:33pm:



Google AI:


Australian resident individual investors who have held an investment property for over 12 months are generally entitled to a 50% Capital Gains Tax (CGT) discount. This concession reduces the net capital gain by half, meaning only 50% of the profit is added to your taxable income and taxed at your marginal rate.

Key Aspects of the CGT Discount for Property:
Eligibility: You must be an Australian resident for tax purposes, an individual, or a trust (companies are generally not eligible).


12-Month Rule: The property must be held for more than 12 months, excluding the dates of acquisition and sale.


Calculation: If you sell an investment property for a $200,000 gain, you only report $100,000 as taxable income.


Cost Base Reduction: The gain is calculated as the sale price minus the "cost base" (purchase price + buying/selling costs).
Foreign Residents: If you were a foreign resident for any part of the ownership period, the 50% discount may be reduced or not applicable.


Partial Main Residence: If your investment property was once your main residence, you may be entitled to a partial exemption, with the remaining gain potentially eligible for the 50% discount.

Yeah  but look at all the homing all this investment is producing!!!!  All these new homes appearing by magic every day!!

freediver wrote on Feb 21^st, 2026 at 11:52am:


[google]

Negative gearing is not unique to housing, nor is it exclusive to Australia. It is a general investment principle—where expenses exceed income—that applies to shares and other assets. While common for Australian property, similar, though often more restricted, tax deduction systems exist in countries like Germany, Japan, and Canada.

...and you still haven't addressed the other items  in the 1st google  quote, which you mindlessly skipped without pointing to any errors, thinking you could settle on the NG issue which you ALSO know nothing about.

FD and lee - an idiot-duo blinded by Thatcherite "small government" ideology.

Hence no understanding that Menzies who promoted private housing also ensured costs were affordable for builders and buyers, in the Keynesian 'deficit spending' era, balanced by sufficient public housing for  low income renters, to avoid homelessness.

freediver wrote on Feb 21^st, 2026 at 1:33pm:


Australian housing is significantly less affordable than in the U.S., with a median price-to-income ratio (median multiple) around 9.7x compared to roughly 4.8x–5.1x in the US as of 2024-2025. Australian housing is often considered "severely unaffordable" (9.0+ ratio), with cities like Sydney exceeding 13x, while major US cities like Los Angeles (10.9x) and San Jose (11.9x) are high but generally lower than top Australian cities

thegreatdivide wrote on Feb 23^rd, 2026 at 5:04pm:


And you not having a clue what the output means, or knowing how to figure out whether it is correct.

thegreatdivide wrote on Feb 23^rd, 2026 at 4:28pm:


Oh which ones? Be specific. You mentioned "unique" taxes for landlords. Then you answered that Negative Gearing is NOT unique. So which are the "unique" ones.

thegreatdivide wrote on Feb 23^rd, 2026 at 4:57pm:


You do know  one of the most common construction methods in the US is still clapboard? It similar to weatherboard in Australia. Now not so common.

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Again incorrect. It is a summary of what is said on the internet. It neither understands nor knows the truth. If the internet is full of mindless Greens drones talking about "unique tax breaks" for Australian housing investors (thanks WK) then that is what AI will report. And some people like you will copy and paste it, having no understanding at all of what it means either. Hence your lie about Australian housing investors getting unique tax breaks.

Yes it is convenient. But it is also BS. And you cannot tell the difference. And no, we are not compelled to respond to your mindless copying and pasting. If the CCP did not teach you how to think for yourself, and you have no interest in figuring it out either, we cannot teach you how to think.

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You keep parroting that line. Going round in circles. But do you understand what you are saying? What are they?

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You have already conceded this is not a unique tax benefit. Do you remember doing that, or were you just parroting again, with no comprehension of the things you post?

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If you do not understand what you are talking about, how do you know whether you speak the truth?

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And so the circle continues.

What are they? And before we go round once more, you have already conceded that negative gearing is not one of them. Or were you mindlessly parroting something you have no understanding of, nor even recollection of?

freediver wrote on Feb 23^rd, 2026 at 7:05pm:


Well ... only 2 ideologically  crippled dummies are still commenting, so I'll be brief:

FD is too blind to even acknowledge the error of his "AI is convenient, and also BS" assertion, an oxymoron which AI exposed brilliantly, in my previous post.

Quote:


You mindlessly reject AI which concisely listed them for you.

And the other dummy, lee: he has settled on rejecting the truth in OP because ...(drum role).... "Clapboard is a cheaper construction method than brick."

And speaking of "circles", lee's using a circular argument: he says there is no housing investor's playground in Oz  (despite AI's confirmation of the OP) , because we could be building cheaper houses, ignoring the effect of other factors such as  higher immigration causing  'demand pull' price inflation.

I rest my case.   

thegreatdivide wrote on Feb 24^th, 2026 at 11:55am:


What are the unique tax benefits, parrot?

thegreatdivide wrote on Feb 25^th, 2026 at 8:22am:


And I never said anything different. Cheaper build new house must lower the average price of new builds. Basic. So much for falling on its face.

thegreatdivide wrote on Feb 25^th, 2026 at 8:22am:


So some academic makes a statement and you fall for it. You never explained how a CGT discount, which only occurs on sale, helps landlords buy more. And no the banks don't use CGT discount as some sort of proxy capital.

thegreatdivide wrote on Feb 25^th, 2026 at 8:22am:


Rubbish. It collects and distributes DATA, not necessarily of good quality. AI of itself knows exactly nothing. It merely regurgitates something based solely on the question asked.

thegreatdivide wrote on Feb 25^th, 2026 at 8:22am:



NOPE. Asking the RIGHT question is the beginning of knowledge.

thegreatdivide wrote on Feb 25^th, 2026 at 8:22am:



Ah so you don't know what "unique" is and must defer to people who at best misuse the term. What a klutz.


BTW - I can find no evidence of Fraser or Kohler using the expression "unique" in relation to taxes.
thegreatdivide wrote on Feb 25^th, 2026 at 8:22am:


Oh dear loses the argument and tries to deflect.

What are the unique tax benefits, parrot?

thegreatdivide wrote on Feb 25^th, 2026 at 3:30pm:


And yet ordinary Aussies are doing it.

thegreatdivide wrote on Feb 25^th, 2026 at 3:30pm:


So vacant land - a increasingly limited asset is going up in price, But it is the landlords at fault.

That still doesn't mean cheaper cost housing is not effective. Bur hey everybody wants 4 bedrooms, at least 2 bathrooms, 2 car space brick McHootchee.

thegreatdivide wrote on Feb 25^th, 2026 at 3:30pm:


And still nothing about the uniqueness.

And what method should Henry have used? His report on taxation didn't specify anything about CGT. Although he did recommend a $25k tax-free bracket and only 2 tax brackets. 

thegreatdivide wrote on Feb 25^th, 2026 at 3:30pm:


So for a person to only own one house, there would be no rental houses at all.

So which tax breaks that are now, supposedly, not unique, be scrapped. Be specific.

And where would the money come from? What house size, construction etc for low income earners? Shouldn't government try to keep rents low, but also enable them to have the funds to build more?

thegreatdivide wrote on Feb 25^th, 2026 at 3:30pm:


So building homes is not a productive activity? On whom do you rely for that opinion?

Bobby. wrote on Feb 25^th, 2026 at 3:39pm:


You should not have gone on the rantan nightly.

thegreatdivide wrote on Feb 25^th, 2026 at 5:22pm:


"Aussie Home Loans has examined tens of thousands of mortgage settlements between 2010 and 2024 and found that Australian homebuyers are increasingly saying “I do” to home ownership, with the number of home loans approved to unmarried couples having jumped by 80 per cent since 2015."

https://www.realestate.com.au/news/the-shocking-thing-aussie-buyers-are-going-wi...

Well that puts the lie to that.

thegreatdivide wrote on Feb 25^th, 2026 at 5:22pm:



So why can't they build? it is generally cheaper, on all types of construction methods.

thegreatdivide wrote on Feb 25^th, 2026 at 5:22pm:


But only on sale. Which is what you want. It still begs the question of "why can't they build"?

thegreatdivide wrote on Feb 25^th, 2026 at 5:22pm:



And that's why super was brought in. Now of course some people don't want home ownership, they prefer to travel, so they are happy to rent. Of course later in life they may regret, but it is still a choice.

thegreatdivide wrote on Feb 25^th, 2026 at 5:22pm:


And yet he had a hand in designing it, but Labor flubbed it.

"Rudd endorsed and implemented only three of the 138 recommendations."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Tax_Review

thegreatdivide wrote on Feb 25^th, 2026 at 5:22pm:



Ah yes. Well known economists.

Steve Keen - "Should the wealthy get away with lower tax than workers. Shouldn't capital gains and income be taxed at the same rate. The answer isn't as straight forward as you might think."

https://profstevekeen.substack.com/p/should-the-wealthy-get-away-with

Or is your argument that he is not a "well known" economist?

thegreatdivide wrote on Feb 26^th, 2026 at 4:05pm:


No parrot, I meant figure out what "unique tax breaks" landlords get.

Bobby. wrote on Feb 21^st, 2026 at 11:55am:


He’s right.
And yes, Victoria is the worst place to have an investment property.
That’s why we decided to buy interstate Qld instead. No BS land tax.

Near where my son lives, a $1.6 million house sold, it was investors and they said land tax will be over $3,600, then $2600 council rates, water/sewerage rates. And insurance about $2,500 and variable interest rates on whatever loan they got. Oh not forgetting over $90,000 stamp duty when buying.
Any wonder rent has to be ridiculously high.

They have had it on market to rent for $1,100 a week and within 2 weeks was leased!

I’m a bit astounded. Hubby guesses there’s 2 or 3 friends each sharing rent so it makes it affordable to live in a beautiful spacious house at the same time rather than a tiny unit each.

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Well lets raise the taxes on investors that should bring down the cost of building a house.

May 2, 2026


The 1% have cooked our housing system, but the 1% can fix it: taxthe1percent.com.au

The richest 1% don’t get rich by working. They do it by buying and selling assets like real estate - and making the most of a rigged tax system.

Tax concessions like negative gearing and the capital gains tax discount overwhelmingly flow to the richest people in the country, making it even harder for anyone else to get ahead.

The reason we’re in this situation now is because politicians from Labor, Liberal and One Nation are in the pockets of the 1%.

We’re at a tipping point. We need to act now or we’ll end up with US-style economic inequality.

That's why we've launched a campaign to make the 1% pay their fair share - because it’s time to tax wealth, not wages. It’s time to deliver more for you, less for billionaires & big corporations.

Find out more at taxthe1percent.com.au

Because costs have been allowed - yea - encouraged to get way out of hand to suit a few over the majority - the only solution will be to lower costs of building - to cut the profits so that this investment becomes non-viable.  The 'buildng industry' in the absence of any other real industry - is one of the mainstays of modern Australian economic theory! 

So the idea is to bring as many people as needed to force more construction to cater to them!              

Heeey - Burka just got us another 2.9M citizens - those on temporary visas will now get the full nod! 

So all that Medicare money will vanish like a politician's promise after an election... poof ... your schools will be overloaded, your police, your infrastructure, your hospitals and doctors all paid on Medicare....and the pressure on HOMING will rise and rise until it MUST collapse.  You can say that nationalising these people does not raise the number here - but it does raise the costs for everyone else by raising the number to chew on the same dollar ... and have the same requirements to live here fully, eventually cop pensions and meantime cop social security, and fill out the aged care facilities and NDIS and Homecare for the aged etc.... maybe we shoudl just bring in MORE millions so that when they all age, they can take care of one another.....  wait a minute... that doesn't quite compute...

The Madness of Labor continues... kick it down the road and nobody can even prove it will happen - until it does.. and the ONELNP might be in political power then and will be fair game...

Meantime the breakaway state of Queensland is planning to build oil refineries to re-boot the viable economy of genuine production and real earned wages with prosperity more evenly distributed...a good start onthe GAIA plans.

THEY can see the validity of a huge rail/road network across the land, riding over the oil reserves to the West Coast ores ans shipping good stuff every which way for production HERE ... and not a cent to me for finder's fee... typical... not even an offer of a job with no work to tide me over ...

Bobby. wrote Yesterday at 2:17pm:



Just don't drink it.

Bobby. wrote Yesterday at 2:17pm:


A solution to what Bobby, 26% of the population rent private rentals compared to 3% renting government housing.

Increasing the tax on these investors is not going to push down the prices of houses, its going to raise rents to cover the costs. It will be more money going from the end user (renter) to the government.