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.
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Still, as the AUD falls, realtors are licking their chops for a resurgence, so the ban may at least cap it.
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There’s nothing like an ersatz ban on foreign property buyers to colour an election.