As we prepare to head to the polls this Saturday REIWA has been busy engaging with the WA community to learn their views on property investment and negative gearing. They especially wanted to learn how negative gearing benefits everyday Western Australians.

Last week we shared some preliminary results from the survey and community engagement strategy. The results have now been collated and we can report that the overall consensus is that negative gearing has to stay.

For starters, the survey debunked the myth that property investment is reserved for the wealthy. Most respondents had modest portfolios of just one or two properties and were earning a gross annual salary of less that $100,000.

More than half of the respondents said they would stop investing in property if negative gearing is changed.

REIWA President Hayden Groves said, “If this is the case, we’ll see a significant impact on the supply of private rental accommodation. Rent prices will also increase as they did in the eighties when negative gearing was removed.”

Respondents were also asked if they felt restricting negative gearing tax arrangements to newly built homes would restrict their choices. The majority of respondents felt it would.

Mr Groves commented that he believed the proposed changes to negative gearing are based on the behavior of stronger markets in the eastern states. “Our public discussions with the WA community have reaffirmed the need for broader tax reform where the system is simple, fair and efficient, rather than tinker with one part of what is a very complex system,” he said. “No matter what the outcome of the Federal Election, we’ll be continuing our discussions with all political parties to ensure that the benefits of property investment for all West Aussies are considered during any future tax reform.”