Home In On Your Wealth

New owners will enjoy the many benefits of property ownership

- Pam Walkley

First-home buyers are back in the market. The number of loans they have taken up – as a percentage of total owner-occupied loans – rose to 18% in November 2017, according to ABS housing finance data. The last time the figures were at 18% or above was 2012.

Let’s hope the trend continues, because buying and paying off a family home, has been a traditional route to building wealth.

A family home does far more than just provide you with shelter. It’s the only investment that is free of capital gains tax. Under the current rules, if you realise a $250,000 gain on your share portfolio, and you’ve held it for over a year, you’ll pay tax at 50% of your marginal rate. A gain of this magnitude could push you into the top tax bracket (45% plus 2% Medicare). Make the same profit on the family home and it’s tax free, unless you have used part of it to make money.