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Expert Warns Housing Goals Won't Solve Affordability Crisis

2/17/2026

Summary

Story summary

Christian Nygaard, a housing economics professor, says meeting the Albanese government's target of 1.2 million new homes by 2029 would only modestly improve affordability, lowering the house-price-to-income ratio from 8.0 to 6.7.
He notes that supply alone fails to address broader affordability and the distribution of housing.
Nygaard urges reforms to the capital gains tax to tackle the crisis.
He warns that without deeper analysis, solutions may miss the mark.

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Story summary

Christian Nygaard, a housing economics professor, says meeting the Albanese government's target of 1.2 million new homes by 2029 would only modestly improve affordability, lowering the house-price-to-income ratio from 8.0 to 6.7.
He notes that supply alone fails to address broader affordability and the distribution of housing.
Nygaard urges reforms to the capital gains tax to tackle the crisis.
He warns that without deeper analysis, solutions may miss the mark.