Real estate rich list grows as Australia’s wealthiest reap property profits

PHOTO: Of the 200 richest Australians, those listing property alone as their source of wealth increased from 28 in 2007 to 47 in 2017, according to new analysis. Photograph: Lukas Coch/AAP

Profit margins in the real estate sector are at record highs and Australia’s richest individuals are increasingly listing property as their sole source of wealth, new analysis shows.

The analysis also suggests state governments are reaping increasingly large windfalls from stamp duty, and not matching them with social housing investment.

The Greens senator Lee Rhiannon, who commissioned the analysis from the parliamentary library, said it showed a small, powerful group was making huge profits from the property market, while the disadvantaged experienced rising homelessness and housing stress.

READ MORE VIA THE GUARDIAN