One in two brokers express election concerns

Areas of worry around a new government include impacts on mortgage sales, changes to negative gearing and tighter immigration policies

One in two brokers express election concerns

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A large proportion of brokers have discussed their fears of an impending change in government caused by today’s volatile political environment.

A recent survey of the MyState third party network found that almost 50% of brokers had expressed concern about the potential impact of a new government.

Just over 40% said they were worried that uncertainty around a political change could negatively impact mortgage sales while an additional 40% said potential changes to negative gearing and tax policy could further hamper housing affordability.

Another 12% said that a new government may tighten immigration further, limiting entry to the Australian housing market for wealthy foreign buyers and investors.

Despite these concerns, brokers surveyed generally had positive expectations for their businesses in 2018 with one fifth predicting strong growth and 47% predicting moderate growth.

Only 6% expected no growth while less than 1% predicted revenue and profits to decline.

These results were reflective of the excellent run that the broking industry had experienced over the past three to four years, said MyState group executive of broker distribution Huw Bough.

“Political uncertainty can inflate concerns, but the underlying theme here is positive. The vast majority of brokers are looking forward to a productive year, despite signs of a softening housing market in major centres.”

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