Owning multiple properties: why there’s now shame and stigma

Owning a holiday home or rental property was once a badge of honour. Today it seems to be something much different.

Did you enjoy a $50,000 or $60,000 wealth boost in the financial year just finished?

If you’re among the millions of property owners who benefited from average national home price growth, you probably did.

And if you own two properties, perhaps your own home and a holiday home or an investment, you may have doubled the gain to $120,000 or more, depending on where you live.

People with three or more rental properties – and there are about 220,000 of them nationally, according to the Australian Taxation Office – perhaps pushed $500,000 for their 2023-24 overall wealth jump.

We’re talking big numbers here, and it’s a big point of contention among the many who cannot afford real estate because of high prices and interest rate rises in recent years.

Are multiple property owners greedy? Or just lucky? Or just smart?

After all, owning bricks and mortar should be the number one goal of every Australian.

Hundreds of thousands of Australians own two or more rental properties. Picture: iStock

For starters, your own home is the only true tax-free investment you can own, thanks to its capital gains tax exemption.

It’s also exempt from the age pension assets test, creating a huge advantage for seniors who own rather than rent their home.

Governments throw big incentives to help people get a foot in the door, but still millions cannot afford it.

While it’s a noble goal to own property, people increasingly attract criticism if they own more than one.

Investors are accused of bidding up prices that push potential first home buyers out of the market, even if an investor is simply trying to make a better life for themself and their family.

Many of Australia’s 2.2 million real estate investors and countless other holiday home owners won’t receive a cent of age pension for most or all of their retirement. At current annual pension rates near $29,000 for a single and $43,700 for a couple, over a 20-year retirement that equates to $580,000-$874,000 in forgone pension payments.

Multiple property owners pay capital gains tax when they sell their holiday homes or rental properties, potentially hundreds of thousands of dollars on a big sale.

Many have also had to deal with the recent 62 per cent jump in mortgage repayments for each property, which could go higher as soon as next month.

House prices rose in most capital cities in 2023-24, but the gains were uneven. Picture: iStock

Risk of rule changes is a constant threat, and a key factor why many property owners saw weaker prices last financial year (Victorian government, come on down!)

Chopping down tall poppies can be a national pastime, but ATO figures show 1.62 million of Australia’s rental property owners have just one property. Many are teachers, nurses, police officers and other emergency services workers. Since when did they become tall poppies?

I’ve personally bought and sold a few investment properties in the last 23 years after being inspired by Robert Kiyosaki’s Rich Dad, Poor Dad books.

Buying an investment property used to make me feel proud, but now it borders on shame.

Surely that’s not how we want Australians to feel for trying to build financial security and reduce their reliance on welfare later in life?

Originally published as Owning multiple properties: why there’s now shame and stigma