Author: Mark Holzworth

The housing affordability crisis is having unintended consequences between generations, according to economist Professor Rachel ViforJ. "There's definitely growing intergenerational tension in the housing market. Most people who are home owners are older and many of them would have bought back in say the 1980s, or the 1990s, just before the worldwide housing boom." "If you bought just before the housing boom, then you would be enjoying a huge amount of capital gain," said Professor ViforJ. Unfortunately, what that means is that it's actually locking out growing numbers of young people from being able to access first home ownership."

If you have participated in a BBQ with family or friends, property investment can be an uncomfortable topic when it comes to housing affordability. The disparity arises where younger buyers express concern about being ‘priced-out’ of the market because of investor tax incentives. One of those tax incentives is negative gearing, which essentially means any losses a housing investor makes on the shortfall between rent and interest will be offset against other income — and covered by the taxpayer. Speaking of this dynamic, Tim Lawless of CoreLogic said there were some ways to scale it back if any politician is game to try.