A range of topics were covered, such as: • Interest rates + importance of the Reserve Bank of Australia Governor’s words • Migration – overall & international students • Negative gearing & tax reform • Institutional ownership of housing/BTR vs individualised landlords • Deposit hurdle/use of super to fund deposits • Stamp duty vs broad-based land taxes • Red tape and the need for densification • Rental support • The death of the Australian Dream?
📋All the panelists pointed to the need to improve new housing supply as the primary solution, but painfully little was discussed about how it would actually be achieved.
In particular, I was disappointed with the lack of discussion about the importance of enabling the private sector to feasibly and quickly deliver new homes in response to demand.
Beyond a fleeting reference from Alan Kohler, the other points that touched on this were : • A mention of the importance of fixing planning systems and zoning from Michael Sukkar.
• Clare O’Neil on the role of State & Local governments in solving the issue vs Federal Government (but also overstating the value of the Housing Accord in addressing this- zero has materially improved on the ground, so far).
• The need to fix property taxes (with quote of the night from Alan Kohler): “Housing is taxed as if governments are trying to prevent it.”
• Yay YIMBYs – but then honing in on product which is undersirable and too expensive as the solution
🤔Key thoughts: • Most of the discussion (migration, interest rates, negative gearing reform, deposit hurdle, stamp duty reform) dealt with the demand side, not the supply side of the equation • Densification is part of the solution, but high-density #apartments won’t solve the problem due to cost and low consumer interest • Unlocking #greenfields and medium-density at scale remain the only feasible solutions short term, coupled with urgent planning and #zoning reform to minimise delay with Councils and authorities • #BTR should and will be a component of new supply, but isn’t remotely the answer to affordability and won’t replace the need for other private investment
❓Was there anything suprising that came out of the discussion that I missed?