Only ten years late.
The Albanese government will launch a crackdown on housing purchases by foreign buyers, implementing a two-year ban on the purchase of established homes by temporary residents to replicate a previous commitment by the Coalition.
…Simultaneously, the Albanese government will also conduct a review into the ban’s effectiveness to determine whether it should be extended or made permanent, with the Australian Taxation Office set to be granted $5.7m in additional funding over four years to enforce the ban.
…According to ATO data, 5360 residential and real estate purchases had a level of foreign ownership in 2022-23, amounting to fewer than 1 per cent of all transactions.
And therein lies the problem. The only market-based data we have on foreign buyers is from the NAB quarterly property survey, which puts the percentage at nearly 4%.
NSW and VIC dominate. What a time 2015 was when the ban should have been enacted. Instead, transactions only fell away after China shut its capital account.
Still, as the AUD falls, realtors are licking their chops for a resurgence, so the ban may at least cap it.
There’s nothing like an ersatz ban on foreign property buyers to colour an election.
