Aussie politicians outed as big-time property investors

From The Real Estate Conversation.

Many of the federal politicians tasked with fixing Australia’s intractable housing affordability problems are significant property investors themselves, according to findings from an investigation by the ABC.

The study, which looked at data from Parliament’s registers of interests, shows that at least 95 per cent of our elected federal members own at least one property; this compares with a home ownership rate for the general population of around 50 per cent, according to the ABC.

Source: the ABC.

Many of the politicians deciding if property investment should be tax advantaged are significant property investors themselves. Of our 226 federal politicians, approximately half own at least one investment property – and a number owning significantly more. Only approximately 10 percent of the general population are property investors.

National Party senator Barry O’Sullivan has the largest portfolio, with 33 properties.

And which party owns the greatest number of properties? The Coalition, with 295 properties, compared with Labor’s 193 properties.

Source: the ABC.

The study didn’t include properties wholly owned by politician’s spouses.

Author: Martin North

Martin North is the Principal of Digital Finance Analytics

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