Zeroing in on interest rates, financing and price growth

A policy framed as first home buyer support should, in theory, produce more first home buyers in the market. The data tells a different story.

Policy changes are announced with clear intentions, but the way people actually respond rarely matches the press release. In the months following recent budget changes, property investors and owner-occupiers alike have started making decisions that weren't necessarily the ones policymakers anticipated.

For years, Sudesh owned exactly two investment properties. Both were in Melbourne, both were land he could drive past on a weekend, and both fit comfortably within what felt safe and familiar. Then, in the space of two years, that same portfolio grew from two properties to six, spanning four states and approaching $6 million in value.

A policy change described as affecting less than 1% of residential lending sounds like something most property investors could safely ignore. But that figure only tells part of the story.