The budget’s most important housing story isn’t about tax
Forget the tax debate. The budget’s real housing reform is a $2 billion push to scrap rules that make it illegal to build homes.
It’s been a long time coming, but in 2026 the Albanese government is finally taking housing affordability seriously.
Despite all the bluster about negative gearing and capital gains tax, those policies are the least important part of the budget’s housing reform story. The available research suggests they explain less than 5% of house prices.
The real answer to bringing down house prices lies in planning and construction reform. Some states were doing this before it was cool — especially my home state of Victoria, where massive planning reforms have made more homes legal in more places and enabled them to get built faster.
It has also been NSW Premier Chris Minns’ personal crusade to stop Sydney becoming a “city with no grandchildren”. But the anti-housing lobby in Sydney is well-funded and deeply ingrained, and much more willing to be deranged on the record, so NSW’s successes have been more limited.
