Negative Gearing…who will it really affect?

One of our key economic and political stabilisers is property ownership. It is one differrentiator on the world stage, and it drives deep into our culture from many angles…but in the debate on negative gearing it is essential to understand who actually are the “landlords”.

We have a cultural love for property ownership and it shows up everywhere. Buying the first home, investing in a rental property, or digging deep to meet mortgage repayments when times are tough are key markers of the Aussie love affair with property. With such a deep engagement it is little wonder that a change/no change policy on negative gearing is both a serious economic debate and a political issue.

But who really owns residential investment properties?…73% of individuals who have an investment property loan own a single property…and less than 10% have three or more.

The current debate has many angles including the impact on house prices, rents, etc, but if you take away the emotive arguments and focus on the numbers alone you end up asking who are these “landlords” with the single investment property?… the 73% of individual landlords…

The majority are “middle Australia”. To “stereotype” we are looking at an Average wage and salary earner, putting away super, who has one investment property which hopefully gives them another wealth strategy for their retirement at the end of their working life….the facts are pretty straightforward and possibly “boring” in the context of the current debate.

Disclaimer: I am in the 10% who own more than a few investment properties….if you want to contact a CPA accountant and finance expert to understand the “real numbers” of your personal financial circumstances then I am here to help.

#NegativeGearing