Julian Leeser (Berowra, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Sydney property is one of the most talked-about subjects in my electorate. For most people in Berowra and most Australians, their home is their most important asset. We've had a significant property boom over the last decade, but conditions appear to be changing. Banks are making it harder to get a loan, and some are using the cover of the royal commission to achieve this. Real estate agents tell me that the market correction has happened and that Labor's housing taxes will see homes that have dropped in value drop further. Newspaper stories abound of 20 per cent declines in property prices over the last 12 months, including in my electorate. In my own area, the situation has been made worse as a result of the Berowra hailstorms, which caused people to move out of their homes unexpectedly and rent, creating a much tighter rental market.

Home ownership is important. It's people's stake in the economic system. A healthy property sector is the harbinger of economic confidence. When the value of people's homes is increasing, they feel confident to spend and invest, but when it's decreasing, it affects confidence in the economy more broadly.

At the coming election, there is a real choice for anyone who owns or rents property: the coalition and its plan for growth or Labor and its plan for tax. Labor's housing tax, increase in capital gains tax and changes to negative gearing will send housing prices down, rents up and confidence away. Labor's mistimed housing tax takes a cooling market and puts it in the deep freeze!