Now that the speculation about what might or might not happen in the Budget has been resolved, we are moving on to hypotheticals about what the changes to negative gearing and capital gains tax will mean.

The nonsense horror stories have been trotted out already. Poor old “mum and dad investors” have been unfairly targeted, we are told. Targetted, yes. Unfairly? Harder to justify. As is the phrase, below, that unit prices are accelerating “at the speed of light”.

And as for the unfairness of it all, isn’t it even less fair when homes are treated as financial vehicles rather than the basic human right, in a modern society, to have somewhere safe, secure and affordable to live?

Speaking of which, the Tasmanian government is about to impose a five per cent levy on Airbnb-style rentals, to help fund affordable housing for the less well-off. Now, that’s progress.

Meanwhile landlords have supposedly “dumped” a record number of homes in the past three months, ahead of changes to tax laws.  If that has led to a reduction in property prices, turning more renters into owners, then the tax changes are already working.

All this and more in this week’s news feed from Leftfield Communications.

Free Reads

Domain

Property investors back negative gearing and CGT reform ahead of federal budget
Support for an overhaul of negative gearing and the capital gains tax (CGT) discount was growing at a rapid pace in the lead-up to the release of the 2026-27 federal budget tomorrow, with investors leading the way, according to the latest quarterly Home Truths Index from independent community advocate AMPLIFY.

Unit prices in these capital cities are now the same as house prices were five years ago
It costs as much to buy a unit today as it did to buy a house less than five years ago in several Australian capital cities, new market data reveals – with one city’s unit market accelerating at the speed of light in less than three years.

Not quite an apartment, not quite a townhouse: The villa unit is the property market’s humble underdog
Not too small, not too expensive and perfect for first-time buyers – villa units are emerging as a popular and affordable option in Melbourne’s housing market.

ABC Online

AI recruited to speed up home approvals, in budget set to reshape housing market
An AI tool to help housing developers get projects through the Commonwealth’s environmental assessment process will be funded in Tuesday’s federal budget. The measure is among a suite of changes expected to fundamentally reshape Australia’s housing market.

Tasmanian government’s long-promised short-stay levy passes lower house
Tasmania’s lower house has passed legislation to introduce a 5 per cent levy on short-stay accommodation, which would be paid by the visitor. The government wants to use the funds for its first home buyer stamp duty relief initiative.

Realestate.com.au

Double Bay penthouse sold off the plan for circa $50 million
The circa $50m off-the-plan sale of the Ruby Double Bay penthouse sits in Sydney’s known top 10 apartment sales list, and ranks the dearest outside the CBD.

Meriton’s Harry Triguboff warns government housing policy is ‘choking both buyers and builders’
There is a heightened anxiety about the upcoming federal budget and its impact on property investment. Industry veterans have been through past broken promises and policy implementation backflips, but they dread the current weakened circumstances and the gap between intent and outcomes.

Landlords dump thousands of rentals before budget changes
Australia’s rental market has been bleeding homes as mum and dad investors cash out of their properties ahead of looming changes to capital gains tax and negative gearing. New analysis of quarterly property sales data revealed landlords dumped a record 22,640 rental homes over the past three months, with 4,865 of the sales occurring in Sydney and 5,565 in Melbourne.

No escape as 5-week mortgage hike wave sweeps Australia
A 36-lender mortgage repricing wave is sweeping Australia, hitting even the cheapest mortgages over the next five weeks – with worse still to come through the year.

Melbourne to get 800 rental home boost, $330m in projects approved
Melbourne’s rental market is set to be buoyed by almost 800 new tenants-only homes after the state government approved a pair of projects worth close to $330m combined.

Urban Developer – Partly Free

Fortis’s Fourth Brisbane Project Approved at New Farm
Sydney developer Fortis has secured the green light for its luxury apartment project planned for the former Ozcare site in Brisbane’s inner-city New Farm.

Morphy Birrell Reveals 25-Storey Tower for Central Geelong
Plans for a 25-storey tower are now before Victoria’s planning minister for a site next door to one of Geelong’s most significant heritage streetscapes. The FK-designed building’s podium would take material cues from the masonry church it overlooks.

It’ll Take Gymnastics to Deliver in this Market, Sydney Warned
New pressures are facing a Sydney sector struggling to tackle the housing crisis. NSW zoning reforms and planning initiatives mean approvals are clearing the barrel, but new blockages are emerging when translating those into builds or sales.

NSW Building Bill Targets Prefab Homes, Approvals and Certifiers
NSW has introduced building legislation that would make the state the first Australian jurisdiction to formally recognise modern methods of construction (MMC) in law.

Blue Diamond Plots Riverside Homes in Blue-Ribbon Toorak
Plans for a riverside apartment project in “the Beverly Hills of Melbourne” have been filed. Blue Diamond Group has submitted a proposal to the Department of Transport and Planning for an apartment building in blue-ribbon Toorak, 5km south-east of the Melbourne CBD.

Demand Drives Coolangatta Boutique Midrise Plans
A boutique infill apartment proposal has been filed for Coolangatta amid sustained demand for medium-density residential projects on the southern Gold Coast. The eight-storey development comprising eight apartments is slated for a 562sq m site at 18 Haig Street.

Pay-walled

The Australian Financial Review

Rich Lister smashes Double Bay record with house-sized penthouse
Yachtie, car importer and Point Piper dealmaker Neville Crichton and his wife Nadi have paid about $50 million for a Double Bay penthouse, clocking an apartment record for the salubrious suburb in Sydney’s east.

Wealthy voters to lose $75k in CGT hit, but it won’t hurt the teals
Independent MPs from electorates where voters receive the greatest benefit from the capital gains tax discount – an average of $75,324 for each taxpayer in Sydney’s Double Bay – will suffer little electoral pushback from an expected curbing of the tax break, analysts say.
Lucy Slade

The Australian

Investor exodus tipped as negative gearing backflip to up-end home market
Developers say the federal government’s shake-up of negative gearing and capital gains tax rules could make it harder to get new projects away because some of the industry’s most loyal investors will retire their capital.

Jim Chalmers pours $2bn into infrastructure to build new homes
The Albanese government is set to pour another $2bn into critical infrastructure in Tuesday’s budget, in an attempt to spur housing construction and meet its commitment to build 1.2 million new homes by the end of the decade.

Jim Chalmers slams door shut on tying migration with housing
Jim Chalmers has defended the Albanese government’s approach to net overseas migration targets and rejected Angus Taylor’s push to tie immigration levels to housing completions. In a pre-budget interview with The Australian, the Treasurer said the government would never set migration targets based solely on one measure like housing, and singled out other migration pressures that Labor is seeking to fix.

The Sydney Morning Herald

Chalmers to launch biggest property tax overhaul of the century in ‘tough decisions’ budget
Treasurer Jim Chalmers will unveil the largest change to property taxes this century, deep cuts to the NDIS and measures aimed at cutting business costs in Tuesday’s budget that will break election promises while mapping out plans to deliver affordable housing to young Australians.

Why the auction market just weakened to downturn-era levels
Home owners can no longer expect that their property is worth as much money as it was even a few months ago, as the auction market weakens to levels last seen in the 2022 downturn.

‘Selfish privilege’ or ‘tragic development’? Inside this Sydney suburb’s fight to stop 150 apartments
It was envisaged as a residential utopia, where houses blended into the rocky bushland that bowed down to the harbour on Sydney’s north shore. A century after it was built in the 1920s, Castlecrag is still lauded by architects as an “international treasure” forged by the couple who designed Australia’s capital city.

The Age

‘Bulldozed’: Kew residents fight 18-storey tower that exceeds new height limits
Kew residents are fighting a proposed 18-storey tower that exceeds activity centre height limits, as the planning minister weighs the fate of the former Leo’s supermarket site.

The Courier Mail

Work begins on first $350m tower in huge $800m Duet Portside development
A $350 million luxury apartment tower has broken ground in one of Brisbane’s most exclusive waterfront precincts, where development opportunities have become increasingly rare.

The West Australian

There will be no winners with no grounds terminations reform
REIWA is deeply concerned by the State Government’s inclusion of no grounds terminations in the next review of the Residential Tenancies Act 1987.

Apartments.com.au

Goldfields sets the stage as Quartet Milton launches
National diversified developer Goldfields has launched its latest Brisbane apartment project, Quartet Milton, marking its entry into the sought-after inner-city suburb just two kilometres from the CBD.

First look: Stockland, NSW Gov, unveils plans for 3,300-home Waterloo South renewal
Stockland and Homes NSW have taken the next major step in the transformation of Waterloo Estate, lodging a Concept State Significant Development Application and concurrent rezoning proposal for the renewal of Waterloo South.

The Illawarra Mercury

Your guide to 5 of the Illawarra’s most expensive apartments for sale now
High-end apartment living – from offering less maintenance than a house to the eye-catching finishes and impressive views, it certainly has its appealing elements. This week, we’ve featured five Illawarra apartments that are on the market with an asking price of $3 million or more.