BUBBLE BUSTERS?

When changes to interest deductibility bite, interest rates rise (and the higher 40% deposit required by investors) click in unison, investors will feel the pressure. This confluence of external factors comes at the end of a period of unprecedented price growth, a dark cloud on the horizon. But what are the real implications for investors? And will these changes lead to a levelling off of the market?

The Government and Reserve Bank have been trying, through tax change policies and loan-to-value ratios (LVRs), to cool the housing market for the best part of a year. So far it has had little effect – apart from putting a dampener on investors holding one or two residential properties, who have taken a back seat, while the more substantial property portfolio holders have continued buying.

And now, the broad rule preventing most property investors from offsetting interest charges against their taxable income is being touted