Affordable housing advocate Jordan van den Lamb has criticized Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese's tax reforms, stating they are insufficient to help first-home buyers after an investor purchased a one-bedroom unit in Redfern, Sydney, for $815,000.
The unit on Thurlow Street, which had an opening bid of $740,000, sold on Saturday after a series of $10,000 increments. Eight parties registered to bid, with three actively participating, including at least one first-home buyer. The successful bidder was identified as a real estate industry worker from Mascot seeking potential capital growth.
Albanese's proposed reforms, scheduled to take effect on July 1, 2027, aim to adjust capital gains tax (CGT) and negative gearing policies. However, van den Lamb, also known as housing influencer Purple Pingers, argued that these changes do not go far enough to curb investor activity.
"It's pretty clear the changes aren't stopping investors from buying houses," van den Lamb told the Daily Mail. "This is people with wealth buying extra houses they will never live in just to generate some extra income. The working people are really getting shafted."
He added that while the reforms are a step in the right direction, they do not adequately address the broader housing affordability crisis, particularly for renters, suggesting that landlords may be able to increase rents.
The property market has already shown signs of cooling, with combined auction clearance rates in capital cities falling to 47.4 percent on the Saturday of the Redfern sale, the lowest since early 2020. This cooling trend is attributed by some to the anticipated impact of the proposed tax changes.
Ben Rofe, a sales agent from Belle Property Surry Hills, noted that some potential first-home buyers were deterred by the perceived cost of renovating the Redfern apartment. He described the unit as being in a "low maintenance 1960s block" with "potential to add a lot of value."
Auctioneer Brown-Garrett emphasized the importance of first-home buyers having a strong bidding strategy when competing against experienced investors.
Under the proposed reforms, negative gearing would primarily apply to new housing from May 12, with existing arrangements grandfathered. The 50 percent CGT discount is slated to be replaced by a 30 percent rate indexed to inflation, while new housing would retain the current discount.
Albanese confirmed a deal with Greens leader Larissa Waters to pass the legislation. This agreement includes closing a loophole that allowed property purchases through self-managed super funds (SMSFs) to access a CGT rate of 10 percent. The government stated these adjustments would not alter existing tax arrangements for superannuation or SMSF borrowing.