Australia wastes billions making housing more expensive

It’s not easy to screw up the housing market this badly - it’s taken Australia decades of bad policy and billions of dollars to get here, Matt Grudnoff says.
How did Australia get itself into such a mess with housing? What impact is the crisis having on renters? And why does everyone seem to think investing in the property market is a good idea except the government? On this episode of Dollars & Sense, Australia Institute Senior Economist Matt Grudnoff talks about what caused Australia’s housing crisis and what government can do to fix it.
australiainstitute.org.au // @theausinstitute ( / theausinstitute )
Host: Matt Grudnoff, Senior Economist, the Australia Institute // @MattGrudnoff (x.com/MattGrudnoff)
Host: Elinor Johnston-Leek, Senior Content Producer, the Australia Institute // @ElinorJ_L (x.com/ElinorJ_L)
Theme music: Blue Dot Sessions
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[@tiddlypom2097]

The government thinks that housing is a great investment - except for the government itself! So well put! Build more public housing and bring the country's assets back into public ownership. All of us who make a living through working need to join together and tax the 1% on their assets, then the government will have the money to own and maintain housing etc. If we don't, this is only going to get worse. We're so easily distracted and divided, while the ship sinks around us.

[@sahimspencer6473]

I investigated this a few years ago, Australia is actually quite different from the rest of the world, the 1%, is closer to 0.01% of the population.

[@lukeclifton4392]

Just prohibit foreign investment into housing, land, water and farming all together!!!

[@drwinklepecker9298]

Why should people who have worked hard and earned what they have, be taxed by people like you? The 1% have assets and employ thousands of Australians who then earn enough from the 1% to buy their own homes. Joining together to tax the 1% isn't going to make things better - it's just a symptom of a poisoned socialist attitude.

[@tiddlypom2097]

@@drwinklepecker9298 Oh sorry I didn't express it very well! This is not about increasing taxes on people who work for a living, even the top earners. Check out the videos by LSE economist Gary Stevenson - who is not socialist, he's a mathematician and his analysis is about the numbers not ideological positions. He has a perceptive analysis of what is happening to the economy, and the massive risk of allowing unproductive wealth to rapidly accumulate and concentrate until no one else can afford anything. I mean the true megarich: people whose assets make more money without any work from them at all. These are the people who mostly inherited wealth and own private jets and are buying houses for cash. People who throw large amounts of money at politicians to buy policies that suit them. This is not you or me, or anyone watching these videos. I'm not wanting to take away your hard-earned money.

[@theagitator7337]

Prevent federal politicians from owning more than one home.. problem solved.

[@AlexClarkcompany]

Our economy is afflicted by uncertainty, housing troubles, foreclosures, global shifts, and the aftermath of the epidemic, all of which contribute to instability. To restore stability and drive growth, all sectors must urgently address rising inflation, slowing GDP, and trade disruptions.

[@LouisMorganxb3]

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[@OscarOwenn]

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[@EddieB-d1e]

As a carpenter of 40 years, mostly in the domestic volume built game ive watched homes getting out of reach for even the tradies that build them. The building authorities have always sided with big volume builders, think Porter Davis or Metricon. Need to make it easier/cheaper for mum & dad builders to operate or even allowing qualified tradies build one or two homes per year as owner builders. The big builders have gained too much control in this market. I built my one and only home as an owner builder,as did most tradies at the time, but over the last few years have noticed that young tradies have their homes built by builders they contract to. Also agree too many concessions for investors. Give first home buyers same concessions. One last note, to all reports in the popular media that cost of building has increased because of wage increases, pehaps do your research on contract rates in the domestic volume built game, in paticular rates that the biggest builders pay.

[@nottenvironmental6208]

As a new builder trying to start a business, there's no encouragement, only obstacles and unnecessary costs. Already 15k in admin!

[@robertagostino629]

There are many insane factors going into the medley of poor policy in Australia, and the lack of focus on the sheer costs and lack of protections for builders as one of them, is insane.

[@nottenvironmental6208]

@robertagostino629 I take all the risks, engineers, plumbers, waterproofers etc get let off in past court cases and get gouged by the government monopoly behaviour including after all the training to get qualified, it then costs several thousand for the licence that took 22weeks to arrive just as I try and employ people. Go and ask the banks for a loan for new builders when cheap homes cost over 300k! Not likely, yet I could borrow 1mil 2 buy a house in day's makes no sense 🤔 😕 while large foreign owned corporations pay little or no tax and over half Australia's gas is actually given for FREE to foreign owned corps 😮‍💨 Aussie battlering my own government

[@robertagostino629]

​@@nottenvironmental6208 I hear you. It's wild. We currently raise more revenue from the tax on ciggies and beer than we do from the entire Resource Rental tax

[@tiddlypom2097]

Hey have you guys talked to Gary Stevenson? He'd be great to get on to talk about rising inequality and what we need to do so all the country's assets don't end up owned by the mega-rich speculators. Gary Stevenson is an LSE economist and a mathematician. He has a perceptive analysis of what is happening to the economy, and the massive risk of allowing unproductive wealth to rapidly accumulate and concentrate until no one else can afford anything. He really cuts through and think his approach and way of thinking is great for building bridges between people with different views.

[@williamcrossan9333]

Yes, he is good!

[@ThingsAnStuff]

The AUKUS nuclear sub ‘deal’ is going to cost $365 billion dollars, the Australia 108 building cost $900 million. Australia 108 is an iconic building in an expensive metro area, the second tallest in the country with about 1100 apartments able to accommodate over 3000 people. Even ignoring the economies of scale and how much cheaper land would be in other locations, the government could have built 400 of the Australia 108 buildings an given away the half a million apartments for the free, or atleast offered zero interest, zero deposit mortgages to first home buyers, with enough space house 1-2 million people easily, as well as creating a huge number of jobs and helping the economy. Instead we’re going to get a couple obsolete submarines by 2040 at the earliest, that we don’t need, that almost no one will ever see, with all that money shipped off to America and we ruined our relations with France in the process. Any idea that the housing problem is anything other than engineered scarcity to protect the investments of the wealthy is laughable.

[@JohnH1]

"The AUKUS nuclear sub ‘deal’ is going to cost $365 billion dollars," That's just the down payment. Training the submariners, building the infrastructure to house the subs and then there is the running cost and maintenance. I'm guessing a trillion or more.

[@susanwhite5839]

You didn't mention foreign ownership of our property/allowing negative gearing for short term holiday let not addressing money laundering, allowing international students to buy property here when in receipt of a visa. The largesse of superannuation which has become a giant tax minimisations scheme for the well heeled and the turbo charged population grown pop growth. Child care should be free and pensioners allowed to work without it affecting their pensions. In NZ 10% of their elderly work here it is 3%. I think our politicians are absolutely hopeless. The gas debacle appalling....we are a dumb country thanks to them

[@ChristmasCrustacean1]

because its a myth. 4700 of the 670,000 properties sold in 2023 were sold to foreign investors. less than 1%

[@davidwilkie9551]

Deafening silence on Dark Money

[@DwainDwight]

in 12 months you can easily solve the issue. not in any order, need all to fix: 1. more supply. your numbers not accurate, we still need more housing 2. don't allow interest to be negative geared on second or more homes 3. capital gains on ALL second or more homes. 4. limit buying & selling (flipping) eg no more than two sales per decade. after that capital gains. 5. work with finance industry to lend on rural properties & small towns. 6. work to get building industry back on track. (a lot of things needed here).

[@Watching58]

Did you see the KZbin on the penthouse at the Gold Coast? It’s rediculous and well over the top. It’s extreme. Who’s supposed to buy it? Can’t possibly use it all.

[@JohnH1]

It's very obvious that the Albanese government is more concerned about staying in power by keeping the wealthy minority happy while gas lighting the majority, rather than making solid long term changes that benefit the public which will flow on to benefit our country. There are many things they should be doing like raising unemployment benefits and pensions taking back control of the energy sector and lowering prices. Open a bank and offer low cost loans and house insurance for low income earners and all payments like allowances for child back to school/rental/power bills etc should be means tested.

[@rw-xf4cb]

Ireland put rent caps in and a number of investors took their rental off the market and sat on it some may have sold. But housing is going up so much so in some areas at 10K per month so why would you rent out the property to have it damaged or used (normal wear and tear) over leaving it locked up and then say sell it 1-5rs later when its doubled it's price?

[@alexandersharp9057]

House prices in the US are also at record highs and there you get CGT and negative gearing on your own home

[@williamcrossan9333]

30, 40, 50 years of quite significant incentives for investors. And yet here we are. PIPA (Property Investment Professionals of Australia) thinks the key is more incentives! More incentives for investors to enter the market! Despite Brisbane house price to income ratios going from 2.4 to around 9 since the mid 70's. Just wow.

[@somewhereelse000]

Did you see the report in the CM last week regarding Brisbane house prices doubling yet again as we approach the Olympics? We won't be able to live in the city of our birth soon.

[@williamcrossan9333]

@@somewhereelse000 It's very interesting you say that. My employer is having a hard time replacing the staff lost during covid. This is aircraft maintenance for Australia's largest airline. Basically, a 2 year wage freeze plus 3% yearly increases after, combined with low starting wages, and snails pace career, means staff can longer afford to work at my employer.

[@raburns9875]

Could you guys unpack “Supply” as I believe it is overly confused with ‘New’, where for example at the last census over 1million homes were vacant. Other impacts include “land banking”, “short term rentals (air bnb)”, lock and leave. Examples include palm beach nsw where half the suburb is vacant for 80% of the year. Is it possible to impose a vacancy tax as well as elevated foreign investment stamp duty?

[@cind_errs]

The capital gains tax is more lucrative than wage growth. Why work if you can invest and make money. Situation is unproductive economy growth. This situation is shocking. More Australians are homeless and people can’t afford to buy.

[@krystof2206]

You get to buy additional home just like that. Hey? Work your but off to get ahead and you evil. Banks, supermarkets and mining corporations making billions because our government allows it that’s ok. Go to Russia and get gov housing. No problem comrades

[@krystof2206]

You get to buy additional home just like that. Hey? Work your but off to get ahead and you evil. Banks, supermarkets and mining corporations making billions because our government allows it that’s ok. Go to Russia and get gov housing. No problem comrades poor man’s thinking.

[@luvitagain]

Despite the fact we have a Labor Govt. , the majority of Labor pollies have negatively geared properties as promoted to them by the biggest problem the big Accounting firms. We have to make tax minimization etc a gaolable offence. Not only 4 the individual but also for the Board of these tax firms who promote these schemes.

[@alexandersharp9057]

Any company here can automatically deduct interest and costs from it's bottom line. It will be so easy to get around any change.

[@samd8652]

If a landlord sells and a renter byes and this is supposed to balance out,what about the people coming to Australia where do they rent ? Negative gearing ,my understanding is you can only claim the difference on intrest bank not the running costs of the property. Depredation costs, my understanding is paid back when we sell.

[@rw-xf4cb]

state governments and councils need to open up more land or change the regulations on builds. Like large blocks to allow a second dwelling or more on it. Councils wont allow it as they cannot get money for it on rates.

[@samd8652]

I thought investors are the major purchasers of Defence housing and then leased back to the government.

[@nxc1974]

The other best bit about these empty CGT/NG investment housing is all the absentee & postal voters that are registered in them.

[@phoneticau]

Why cant superannuation funds build to rent dwellings, use economy of scale let super funds spend $10-20B each year by the funds

[@ChristmasCrustacean1]

Dutton the property investor likes super for first home buyers because it drives up property prices and makes him richer.

[@BruceMartin-kc9mv]

@@ChristmasCrustacean1 Kevin Rudd changed the Super laws to allow Self managed super funds a lot more freedom (i.e. borrowing money, negative gearing)to invest in the Housing market

[@susanli2573]

No matter who owns the property, no one will living in two house at same time, so only solution for renters is to build more home but not punish the builders/developers or landlord.

[@rw-xf4cb]

Negative Gearing was implemented so the government didn't need to fund social housing. You also miss the government pushing changes to new builds to have even more onerous costs in them BCC said the new 7 star housing would add $30K to the price to build a new home and this thus pushes up older housing as people would take the older one over new with 30K red tape included. Wait for 8 start, 10/12/14 star houses adding 100s to the new buy.

[@bruceevennett955]

Make the house smaller by one room and you can have a house that doesn’t leak

[@williamcrossan9333]

9:30: Huh? 70% of negative gearing and capital gains tax discounts going to the top 10%? Nah, most of that is going Mum and Dad investors and nurses / teachers on 80K a year. I've seen many property lobbyists say this. Australia Institute must be lying. Even Michael Yardley would agree

[@mitcht4334]

Only solution is build more houses, change zoning rules to let more density. Quality density not sweatboxes. Why should the boomers be able to benefit from negative gearing and capital gains but take it away from the younger generations. Build more social housing.

[@charliez7130]

Direct builds by the govt. rather than relying on private sector.

[@alexandersharp9057]

You keep ignoring that housing is at record levels all across the world. Coincidence doesn't imply causality. Your claim that CGT and negative gearing caused this is beyond stupid whining😅😅

[@andrew4x4au666]

If it doesn't do anything, let's drop it and use the money to build houses for people that can't afford to buy.

[@BruceMartin-kc9mv]

@@andrew4x4au666 or you could apply CGT to the family home like they do in most countries. It will do more to control house prices and raise 3/4 times more revenue. Investors also pay land tax (raises 17 billion) that could be extended to the family home like it is some other countries.

[@user-mc5ze3dg2q]

You can go back to your beloved Russia and have floor to ceiling tiles and 1 bedroom no lift and dodgy power