Top ABC finance guru issues a stark warning that real estate is no longer the safe investment it once was - and why he thinks it's a good thing

By ASHLEY NICKEL, NEWS REPORTER, AUSTRALIA Published: 10:56, 30 June 2026 | Updated: 10:56, 30 June 2026 The public broadcaster's top financial journalist has declared that property has become a 'bad investment' for Australians. Alan Kohler gave the shocking analysis while speaking on the Equity Mates podcast on Tuesday, just days after a bill legislating changes to capital gains tax (CGT) and negative gearing was passed by Parliament. The two changes mainly affect the profitability of property investment by a heavier taxation rate on the profit from property sales and preventing owners from claiming investment property expenses as deductions on their taxes. Kohler told podcast hosts Alec Renehan and Bryce Leske he believed as housing affordability improved in Australia it would have several side effects. While good news for first-time homeowners, the decreased price of property would make it a bad investment. 'I do think that property is a bad investment now,' Kohler said. 'And this is really what we're talking about when we talk about, ''We need to have housing become more affordable'', we're talking about it becoming a bad investment. 'Housing has to stop being this way for people build wealth, and just (be) a place for them to live. That's kind of what needs to happen and I think now for the first time that's probably going to happen.' The ABC's top financial journalist, Alan Kohler (above), said property is becoming a 'bad investment' in Australia Kohler believes sweeping changes will make homes more affordable The commentator attributed the market shift to several government policies. 'I'm now optimistic that housing affordability will improve in Australia,' he said. '...We're probably going to see house prices stay where they are for a long time now for a number of reasons.  'Housing construction is rising for the first time. 'Not as much as it needs to but I think that the signs are good.  'The CGT change and the negative gearing change will have an impact. I think the days of super low interest rates, that caused the house prices to really surge in the past 10 years or so, are over. 'Immigration is declining, not as much as it needs to but it is coming down.' The financial guru believed interest rates would hold steady around 4.35 per cent, the current rate, for a considerable time. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese (above) has defended changes to property investment tax as making the system 'fairer' for young Australians trying to buy their first home Federal Housing Minister Clare O'Neil last week told the ABC the Australian housing market was undergoing a 'correction'. However, she insisted the current downward turn was part of a broader trend of ups and downs. 'The housing market's cyclical in Australia, a very uncontroversial comment,' O'Neil said. 'We see periods of very significant house price growth and then we see the market make a correction, and that's what we're seeing at the moment.' Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Treasurer Jim Chalmers have defended the CGT and negative gearing changes as ways to help young Australians get their first home. Albanese reiterated that point during an appearance on ABC's 7.30 on Monday, during which he said the reforms would make 'the system fairer'. He added properties in Australia would still grow in value, but it would be 'by a lesser amount than they would have' if the changes were not introduced. 'Everyone has acknowledged during this debate that the housing system is broken,' Albanese said. 'Therefore we had to do something about it.' 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. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.