Federal budget impacts for property investors

We get it, budgets aren’t the most exciting topic. But they do shape our everyday lives, especially when it comes to property investment. That’s why it’s worth taking a moment to understand how they impact our cash flow, capital growth potential, and future opportunities.

Rather than get lost in the detail, we’ve pulled out a quick summary of the good, the bad, and what it all really means for us as property investors. So, what does this year’s Federal Budget actually mean?

In short? Rising property prices, especially for the right kind of investment properties.

We already know there’s a serious housing crisis caused by limited supply. What’s often misunderstood is why supply is so restricted. And it’s not just the general public who are confused—many policymakers are, too. That was clear again in this week’s budget, which delivered a few good ideas, a couple of not-so-great ones, and an overall outcome that sees housing supply fall even further behind.

Here’s our take:

1. You can’t fix a supply problem with demand-side solutions.
   The ‘Help to Buy’ scheme sounds helpful on paper, but it has two major flaws:
   • It gives buyers more capacity to compete for a limited pool of properties, pushing prices higher.
   • It involves going into partnership with the Government on your property. And let’s be honest, intent and execution don’t always go hand in hand. Property policy history hasn’t exactly been reassuring.
2. Foreigners have always helped add to supply until we made it too hard.
   Foreigners don’t buy our homes and ‘compete with Aussies’, they add to supply. Fact. This is an uninformed populous policy designed to look good and grab money if they can, but it’s a short-sighted move guaranteed to reduce supply. Less supply = higher rents and prices. Every time.
3. Prefab and modular housing is a smart move if councils come to the party.
   Incentives for prefab and modular builds are a step in the right direction. These homes are faster and more cost-effective to deliver, which is exactly what we need. But unless local councils and state governments get on board and support quality standards, it won’t be enough to meet demand. Federal policies (like immigration) need to be supported with changes at a State and Local Government level. We also need to ensure quality – part of the reason these housing options are cheaper is that these dwellings are built in a factory and not all the workers need to have the same trade qualifications as those working on site … we’ll just leave that one there.
4. More tradies? Good idea, but not a game-changer (yet).
   Training more tradies to support the construction industry is a welcome move. It’s a positive step, but we’ll need a much bigger push if we’re serious about making a real dent in the housing shortage.

What does this mean for investors?

Prices are set to rise, especially for high-quality, well-located investment properties. Supply simply isn’t keeping up, and demand isn’t going anywhere. That creates opportunity, if you know where to look.

As always, we’re here to help you make sense of it all and find the right strategy to move forward with confidence.