Why Upgraders May Have the Edge as Home Values Slide

For first-home buyers the path is tougher. Rents are still climbing, which worsens rental affordability and slows the pace at which a deposit can be built, even while asking prices soften. Changes to negative gearing and capital gains tax rules are starting to reshape how investors behave, the hosts said, channelling demand across the market differently than in earlier cycles.

Wargent and Bates also fielded listener questions on CGT transition rules, property valuations, development sites and the growing need for tax advice as the market gets more complex. They positioned the episode as a read on where fear is building and where leverage may be shifting.

From housing, the conversation widened to the broader economy. Lending is slowing and housing activity is weaker. Construction demand is easing with it, and consumer spending faces the drag of higher housing costs. State budgets are feeling the same strain, the hosts said; softer activity trims the revenue they collect from property transactions.