Mortgage Choice says retaining negative gearing makes sense

Mortgage Choice says retaining negative gearing makes sense
Jonathan ChancellorDecember 7, 2020

Mortgage Choice chief executive John Flavell warns getting rid of negative gearing would make housing less affordable.

This was because there would be less investment in new housing stock and investors faced with a winding back of tax concessions would put rents up to cover their losses.  

"I'm with the government in terms of ruling it out," he said.

"I'm looking at affordability of housing across the board, for renters as well as owner-occupiers." 

John Flavell says negative gearing played an important role in the property market.

"The tax benefits associated with negative gearing helps to make property investment more attractive to some Australians, and given that the success and strength of the housing market is critical to the ongoing health of the Australian economy, it doesn’t make sense to consider removing any initiatives that help this market."

"Instead of placing the emphasis on negative gearing and the impact it has on the property market, we should be placing the emphasis on first home buyers and what initiatives/incentives we can introduce to help them.  

"It would be great to see first home owners receiving similar tax concessions as investors - as we believe this would encourage a lot more first buyers into the market. 

"If we want to improve housing affordability and help more first home buyers into the market, we have to pull on the right levers.

"Housing affordability is a function of property prices, income levels, the cost of and access to credit as well as supply of rental accommodation.

"To have a positive impact on affordability, drive up the instances of home ownership and reduce rental burden, all of these levers need to be considered and used.”

Jonathan Chancellor

Jonathan Chancellor is one of Australia's most respected property journalists, having been at the top of the game since the early 1980s. Jonathan co-founded the property industry website Property Observer and has written for national and international publications.

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