MASSIVE IMPACT OF 650,000 POPULATION BOMB ON AUSTRALIAN CITIES HIGHLIGHTED

With more than 650,000 new migrants expected to enter Australia this fnancial year and next fnancial year, new fgures reveal how this will impact on the rental crisis in the major capital cities throughout Australia.

Kevin Young, President of Property Club, Australia’s largest independent group, said that the rental markets in our cities could not cope with this infux of migrants unless the Federal Government acted quickly to incentivise mum and dad investors back into the property investment market.

“A major population bomb is about to hit our cities in Australia where rental properties are already in very short supply.

“Based on an analysis of the permanent migration fgures recently released by the ABS for the period 2000 to 2021 when 3 million permanent migrants moved to Australia, Property Club is predicting that our major capital cities will experience the following increase in overseas migrants moving into them by the end of 2023/2024.

Sydney 190,000

Melbourne 172,000

Brisbane 63,000

Adelaide 36,000

Perth 78,000

Hobart 3,900

The harsh reality is that our cities cannot even provide enough rental accommodation for the people who currently live in them regardless of the thousands of people who are now expected to arrive in each of them due to the surge in overseas migration.

“Vacancy rates are already at near record lows in many parts of Australia and as a result rents have been increasing at more than 20 per cent.

“Property Club is predicting that unless the Federal Government does not act quickly to boost the supply of rental houses, then rents will increase by another 20 per cent over the coming year and the number of homeless people will explode.

“Property Club is calling on the Federal Government to reinstate depreciation benefts associated with owning second hand properties that were abolished in 2017.

“This stupid policy move resulted in property investors not buying cheaper second hand rental properties that could now be offered to renters crying out for affordable rental properties.

“We are also calling on the Federal Government to reinstate interest only lending without time limits for property investors.

“And this equally stupid policy move by APRA to impose time limits on interest only loans in 2018 resulted in thousands of mum and dad property investors to sell their rental properties because they could not afford principal and interest loans after being forced to switch from interest only repayments.

“Property Club believes that these two simple policy measures are urgently needed to prevent the rental crisis from becoming a major disaster following the infux of these thousands of new migrants into our cities,” he said.