Almost half of all Australians blame the federal government for the housing crisis as pressure mounts on Canberra to deliver radical property tax reform in the upcoming budget.
New research reveals voters are losing faith in governments to solve the housing nightmare — but are willing to back politically controversial reforms if it means getting more homes built.
RELATED: Brisbane investors flee as new data exposes suburbs in CGT firing line
Major investor drop-off deepens Southeast Queensland rental crisis
A new survey shows 49 per cent of voters hold the federal government responsible for the rising cost of building new homes.
The latest quarterly Home Truths Index from independent community advocate AMPLIFY surveyed more than 4000 Australians and found 49 per cent held the federal government responsible for the rising cost of building new homes.
That compares to a third blaming state governments and 22 per cent pointing the finger at local councils.
At the same time, distrust in the Albanese government’s handling of the crisis is surging, with 61 per cent saying they do not trust Labor to take the right actions to improve housing availability — up sharply from 52 per cent just six months ago.
The poll by AMPLIFY also found 64 per cent of voters support changes to negative gearing and CGT.
But, the poll found 64 per cent support changes to negative gearing and the Capital Gains Tax discount to drive more housing supply.
The findings come as changes to property tax concessions are being considered ahead of the 2026-27 Federal Budget being handed down on Tuesday, including winding back the Capital Gains Tax (CGT) discount and limiting the ability to negatively gear residential investment properties.
AMPLIFY CEO Georgina Harrisson said Australians were demanding governments treat housing like a national emergency.
“We desperately need to make it easier, faster and cheaper to build more homes, with nearly one million new homes needed to meet the National Housing Accord target by 2029,” Ms Harrisson said.
Amplify CEO Georgina Harrisson. Photo: Jane Dempster.
“As the national housing target slips further out of reach, and with it the Australian dream of home ownership, trust and confidence continue to collapse.
“The federal budget is an opportunity to turn the tide by tackling tax reform, slashing red tape and delivering more affordable housing.”
Deloitte Access Economics partner Stephen Smith said the government’s handling of property tax reform would be a major test of whether it was serious about economic reform.
“While tweaking the size of the CGT discount and introducing some limitations on negative gearing won’t solve Australia’s productivity woes, they could, if designed well, help shift the housing market away from investors and serve as a building block for more ambitious, productivity-enhancing reform,” Mr Smith said.
“To this end, the proposed transition must be more ambitious than grandfathering existing assets into the old rules. While grandfathering is politically palatable, it creates a two-tiered asset market, and it severely delays the fiscal and economic benefits of the reform.”
Deloitte Access Economics partner Stephen Smith.
Finance Brokers Association of Australia (FBAA) interim CEO Peter White AM said this week’s interest rate rise combined with predicted federal government changes to CGT and negative gearing would be “a toxic mix of pain and devastation.”
“Surely driving investors out of the market while at the same time increasing interest rates can only result in increased mortgage repayments and higher rental prices?” Mr White said.
“I’m not an economist but it’s not rocket science that this affects lower income earners more than anyone else.”
MORE: Surprise Aussie town that’s suddenly a global luxury hotspot
Modelling commissioned by the Australian Institute for Progress found abolishing negative gearing and halving the CGT discount would add $83 a week to average capital city rents on top of normal increases.More expensive rents is not intergenerational equity
Capital_City_Rentals_Table_25_04_22
If Jim Chalmers abolishes negative gearing and doubles the capital gains tax as per some proposals it will add $83 a week to average capital city rents on top of normal increases, according to independent modelling released last year by the Australian Institute for Progress.
The modelling, commissioned by the Australian Institute for Progress, predicts many landlords will sell rental properties, reducing their availability, while those that remain will be forced to seek higher rents to compensate for the tax changes.
“Renters are the new victims of housing unaffordability,” AIP executive director Graham Young said. “Making it more expensive for purchasers to afford investment properties will only make their plight worse.”
English (US) · 