I'm 29 with a $60million property portfolio and I've got bad news for would-be homeowners: only Australia's wealthiest can afford a house in our major cities

By MICHAEL PONTICELLO FOR DAILY MAIL AUSTRALIA Published: 04:54, 6 May 2026 | Updated: 04:57, 6 May 2026 A 29-year-old property investor with a $60million portfolio and two supercars has claimed only 'extremely affluent people' can now afford to buy real estate in Australia's major cities - and that's just the reality. Buyers' agent Jack Henderson, who boasts 237,000 Instagram followers, promotes a variety of controversial takes, including that the country is in a 'cost of spending' crisis, rather than a 'cost of living' crisis.  Henderson sat down with the Daily Mail at the first of 17 properties he has now bought, a small apartment in Coogee, to argue that owning homes in the Harbour City isn't possible anymore for the average person. 'If your parents were born in Sydney - let's say back in the 1940s, when the boomers were born - Sydney was a very different place,' the former labourer-turned-investor said. 'So you need to think about, "what's my budget, where can I afford to buy and what's the best location I can get in for my budget"? 'That's likely not going to be anywhere near where your parents bought. And that's okay.' Jack Henderson (pictured) - a 29-year-old property investor with a $60million portfolio and two supercars has claimed only 'extremely affluent people' - can now afford to buy real estate in Australia's major cities - and that's just the reality Henderson, a former labourer (pictured sitting on his McLaren supercar), owns multiple cars worth more than $200,000  'You can rent in Sydney and that's totally fine,' Henderson continued. 'But you're going to have to invest your money either in property outside of Sydney, which is more relative to your income, or find another investment class to invest into.' Known for his polarising takes, the real estate figure said he is simply trying to give a reality check to those hoping to buy an owner-occupied property in Sydney.  'The reality of Sydney as I live in it... it's very extremely affluent and wealthy people,' he added. 'That's only going to become more and more true as the population grows and we keep attracting people from all over the world.  'You need to think like, well, if I'm going to work in a normal job, which is totally fine to do, you need to think about other ways to grow your wealth.' While his message may come across as harsh, it is reflected in recent interstate migration statistics, which show a major exodus out of Sydney. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics registered across the past four years, for every three people who leave Sydney, less than two arrive to replace them. The graph illustrates the difference between the number of people arriving, and on the flipside, departing Sydney across the period from 2022-2025 Henderson's first property purchase was a one bedroom, one bathroom apartment in Coogee. He now owns 17 The polarising buyers' agent purchased the unit back in 2015 for just $720,000 Henderson, who left school at 15, also weighed in on the changes expected to be made to the Capital Gains Tax (CGT) discount, and negative gearing in the upcoming budget. The Labor government is set to scrap the standard 50 per cent CGT reduction, and is poised to revert back to the model of an inflation based discount that will apply to all asset classes. Negative gearing is also on the chopping block, with many expecting it to be removed as well. But the property investor declared the modifications will not affect the property market at all, despite many claiming otherwise. 'It (the expected changes) won't (affect the market). Because previous to the late 1990s, it's how it was and the property market still worked,' Henderson said.  'After these changes, if they come into effect, people will be like, 'oh', and then they get on with life. 'Think back to whenever it was when fuel went to three bucks. The world was ending. Businesses are going to collapse. '(But) the world moves on. No one cares.' Henderson (pictured with his fiancée Em) has built his property portfolio from the ground up The 29-year-old (pictured right) entered into the property market at just 18  The Western-Sydney born entrepreneur claimed in April last year that Australia is in the midst of a 'cost of spending crisis', rather than a cost of living situation.  He has since doubled down on the bold statement, stating Aussies are spending too much money due to the ease in which they can consume goods and services.  'We live in a world now where everything's at our fingertips,' Henderson said. '50 years ago, you had to get out of your car (to spend money),' the 29-year-old added. 'For example, it's a Friday night, right? And you want to get some takeaway food. 'You weren't jumping on Uber Eats to get takeaway food and have it at your door in 15 minutes. 'I think people like discipline, and when they lack discipline, it's easy to do s*** that you shouldn't do.' The founder of 'Henderson Advocacy', has also taken aim at the idea of young people having to make 'sacrifices'.  Henderson (pictured right) has made several bold claims about the state of Australia - and the mentalities some Aussies possess Henderson (pictured) has made a habit out of causing controversy online with his bold takes 'There's no such thing as sacrifice. It's an overused term,' Henderson added.  'If you, for example... have kids early before you've bought a house because kids are more important to you than buying a house... you've made that choice. 'You've made the choice to go back to one income. You've made the choice to do that before you've purchased the home. And there's no right or wrong, right?' Henderson came from humble beginnings, and has amassed a multi-million dollar business after being kicked out of school at 15. The owner of a McLaren and Aston Martin then purchased his first property for $720,000 back in 2015. He's a controversial figure who has surged in popularity recently, with hats boasting slogans such as 'Depreciation Daddy' and 'Raise Rents', drawing mixed reactions.  His confident persona has drawn the ire of many Australians, who believe he is 'out of touch with the average person'. But when he was asked about how he felt about that sentiment potentially being felt, Henderson replied 'Maybe I don't want to be in touch with them'.  Henderson (pictured left) believes some Aussies lack discipline in relation to their spending habits The property investor (pictured) founded his multi-million dollar business back in 2021 Henderson's strong comments have come as Sydney's median house price sits at just under $1.8million. The figure has dropped by 0.04 per cent in the recent quarter, due to poor affordability and deteriorating consumer confidence. But the multi-millionaire has stated using median prices as a measuring stick to determine affordability is 'not accurate'. 'I think we look at these median prices these days, and that's what people judge,' Henderson said. 'To use the same data and say that it's unaffordable in comparison to what it was 50 or 60 years ago is not an accurate representation (of society).' 'Of course it's going to outpace income growth for the average person because they're not average places.  'But if you use the average income and compare it to an average place, then it looks much more attractive.  'It doesn't look like it's super unaffordable.' No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. 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