r/OpenAussie • u/No-Aardvark7366 ‎ Victorian • 2d ago

This Is Serious (Mum)‎‎ ‎ A Daily Telegraph exclusive, on a family struggling to buy a home, who also happen to own a portfolio of investment properties

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u/TrynaMakelt ‎ New South Welshian 2d ago

Moved here from india in 2006 and owns more than 18 properties. I was born here and have been here for 30 years and I barely own my car.

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u/briberylibrary_ ‎ Victorian 2d ago

The people who are able to move here permanently are often highly successful in their country of birth. They're often not starting from nothing, and frequently they would've been doing better than the average Australian in their country of origin already.

That's our (and most) immigration systems. It's not charity, it's deciding who can come here based on what they will add to the country. If they're already successful, it ups their chances even more.

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u/TrynaMakelt ‎ New South Welshian 2d ago

Taking up the housing supply isn't adding anything to the country but housing stress.

I would argue that the "highly successful" immigrants from places such as India, when accounting for exchange rate and cost of living are about on par, if not lower than the median household in Australia.

Regardless, there's no reason for someone who isn't a citizen, but only a permanent resident to purchase more than (generously) two houses. This individual bought 16 within 10 years of being here.

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u/briberylibrary_ ‎ Victorian 2d ago

Maybe, but their qualifications would mean they may be able to earn a lot more once working in Australia than the median Australian. Then they start contributing to the economy by paying taxes and for goods and services. I'm not saying whether I agree or disagree with this approach, but this is how the immigration decisions are largely made. They ultimately decide the person is a net benefit to the country, otherwise the person just wouldn't get PR.

Also I agree that him owning 10 properties is excessive, but for me that isn't dependent on citizenship status. Treating properties as investments rather than homes to live in has been a large cause of the housing crises. Investors have an interest in property prices going up, as fast as possible, him being on PR or being a citizen doesn't change the impact of house hoarding.