Homes will be worth less under Labor

MAY 25, 2016: MACKAY real estate agents have sent a loud and clear message on Labor’s plan to ban negative gearing on established housing; ‘this will cripple the real estate industry in Mackay’ and ‘kill the Australian spirit’.I met with Mackay real estate agents this morning to hear their concerns about the Labor Party’s proposal to ban negative gearing on established houses, a move which will undermine house values.It essentially means your home will be worth less under Labor, and policies such as this will do nothing to assist property owners in Mackay.PRD Realty principal Greg Chappell slammed the move, which he said would hurt mum and dad investors rather than the big end of town.“It’s not the wealthy that will be affected by this move to ban negative gearing, because the wealthy will always find another investment avenue, such as commercial real estate for example,” Mr Chappell said.“Any plan to ban negative gearing for existing properties would hurt mums and dad investors, and I believe that’s going to kill the Australian spirit.“Australians want to look after themselves, rather than take a handout and negative gearing is an avenue where they can do that.“This will cripple the real estate industry in Mackay, because we already have an oversupply in the market and investors would go – ‘there’s nothing in it for us’ and offload those properties leading to a further glut on the market and that affects every single home owner.”Mr Christensen said there are more than 5,000 people in Mackay who have adopted negative gearing as a means to build a future for their families.Across the electorate of Dawson, there are 10,345 people using negative gearing.“Labor wants to penalise people like these mum and dad investors who are using negative gearing to build a future for their families,” Mr Christensen said.“It is about time Bill Shorten and the Labor candidate for Dawson explained to each and every one of these individuals why they think building some modest wealth for their families is such a bad thing.”Mr Christensen said that in Dawson, those who are negatively gearing have an average net rental loss of $9,114. If they weren’t able to negatively gear, those on the middle income tax bracket of 32.5c would face an annual tax increase of $2,962.Most of these middle income earners are investing in established housing, which Labor wants to ban.Nearly two thirds of Australians who make a capital gain on their investments have a taxable income of $80,000 or less.“The last thing our transitioning economy needs is a tax hit on hardworking Australians just trying to get ahead,” Mr Christensen said.