The Elephant in the Room
The property podcast for the thinking person.

Episodes

Episode 454: Will Housing Reform Make Renting Even Harder?

Australia’s housing crisis is becoming increasingly difficult to solve, and proposed negative gearing changes could affect far more than property investors. While the reforms aim to improve affordability, could they actually make it harder to deliver new housing and put further pressure on rents?

In this episode, Richard Temlett, National Executive Director of Research at Charter Keck Cramer, joins Veronica and Chris to unpack what’s really happening inside Australia’s housing market. Richard explains why changes to investor incentives could reduce demand for new properties, why developers are already struggling with construction costs and finance, and why planning approval doesn’t necessarily mean a project will ever be built.

We also explore the potential impact of negative gearing on rental prices and ask how will housing reforms affect renters if established investment properties leave the rental pool faster than new homes are delivered? Richard breaks down why most investors buy established property rather than new builds, why Melbourne and Brisbane’s apartment markets could be particularly exposed, and why build-to-rent could emerge as one of the few models still attracting funding.

Beyond the immediate reforms, Richard looks at the deeper issues driving the rental crisis in Australia, including population growth, planning restrictions, infrastructure constraints, construction productivity and the shortage of social and affordable housing. If Australia wants to tackle its housing crisis, he argues, it needs more than a tax change — it needs greater certainty, better coordination and a long-term approach to property development and housing supply.

Episode Highlights

01:41 – Meet Richard Temlett: Inside Australia’s Housing Crisis

05:17 – Why SMSF Changes Could Hit New Housing Supply

08:18 – Why Housing Uncertainty Is Freezing Buyers

11:13 – Why Build-to-Rent Could Be a Housing Winner

18:11 –The Hidden Risks Developers Are Carrying

25:30 – Can Australia Actually Fix Its Housing Crisis?

27:03 – Why More Housing Supply Is So Hard to Deliver

31:50 – How Politics Is Reshaping Australia’s Housing Supply

37:12 – Why Investor Changes Could Reshape the Rental Market

39:31 – Why Australia’s Construction Industry Is So Unproductive

44:43 – Why Property Needs More Policy Certainty

48:02 – Why Politics and Property Run on Different Timelines

51:26 – The Case for a National Housing Reset

54:16 – The Housing Crisis: What Needs to Change Next?

About the Guest

Richard Temlett is the National Executive Director of Research at Charter Keck Cramer, where he specialises in data-driven, evidence-based research to guide property development and investment decisions across Australia.

With extensive experience analysing residential property markets, Richard works closely with developers, financiers and government to understand the economic, planning and market forces shaping Australia’s housing supply. His work focuses on turning complex market data into practical insights about development feasibility, housing demand and the factors influencing where and what gets built.

Richard is also the host of Precisely Property and a regular industry speaker, sharing his research and perspective on the challenges facing Australia’s property market. A former lawyer, he holds a Bachelor of Laws from Flinders University and a Master of Business from RMIT.

In this episode, Richard brings that research-driven perspective to one of Australia’s biggest challenges: how to increase housing supply without creating policies that unintentionally make new development harder to deliver.

Connect with Richard Temlett

Resources:

Visit our website: https://www.theelephantintheroom.com.au

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Chris Bates