It’s almost election time again and that means only one thing ‒ the same tired proposals by politicians who have no intention of seeing them through. (How many times have we heard about a high-speed rail network? Tackling child poverty? Crackdown on welfare recipients?)

One of the most common pledges that could have an impact on the real estate industry concerns negative gearing and the Labor Party’s plans for reform.

Bill Shorten has announced that he wants to change the current negative gearing policy so that it no longer applies to existing properties. Labor’s plan is for negative gearing to continue only for investors who buy new builds. For current investors who make use of negative gearing, there will be no change on the properties they own, unless they sell them on.

Labor’s goal is to encourage growth in the building sector, which they believe will increase the supply and lower the overall price of housing and rent in Australia.