A 29-year-old property investor who has built a $60 million portfolio and owns two supercars has declared that only 'extremely affluent people' can now afford to purchase real estate in Australia's major cities, describing this as simply the reality of the market.
Jack Henderson's controversial views
Buyers' agent Jack Henderson, who boasts 237,000 Instagram followers, promotes a range of controversial takes, including the assertion that the country is facing a 'cost of spending' crisis rather than a 'cost of living' crisis. Speaking to the Daily Mail at his first property purchase—a small apartment in Coogee—Henderson argued that owning a home in Sydney is no longer feasible for the average person.
'If your parents were born in Sydney—let's say back in the 1940s, when the boomers were born—Sydney was a very different place,' the former labourer-turned-investor said. 'So you need to think about, "what's my budget, where can I afford to buy and what's the best location I can get in for my budget"? That's likely not going to be anywhere near where your parents bought. And that's okay.'
Henderson, who owns multiple cars worth more than $200,000, added: 'You can rent in Sydney and that's totally fine. But you're going to have to invest your money either in property outside of Sydney, which is more relative to your income, or find another investment class to invest into.'
Reality check for hopeful buyers
Known for his polarising opinions, the real estate figure said he is simply offering a reality check to those hoping to buy an owner-occupied property in Sydney. 'The reality of Sydney as I live in it... it's very extremely affluent and wealthy people. That's only going to become more and more true as the population grows and we keep attracting people from all over the world. You need to think like, well, if I'm going to work in a normal job, which is totally fine to do, you need to think about other ways to grow your wealth.'
His message is reflected in recent interstate migration statistics, which show a major exodus from Sydney. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, over the past four years, for every three people who leave Sydney, fewer than two arrive to replace them.
Changes to CGT and negative gearing
Henderson, who left school at 15, also weighed in on expected changes to the Capital Gains Tax (CGT) discount and negative gearing in the upcoming budget. The Labor government is set to scrap the standard 50 per cent CGT reduction and revert to an inflation-based discount applying to all asset classes. Negative gearing is also expected to be removed. However, the property investor declared these modifications will not affect the property market, despite widespread claims to the contrary.
'It won't affect the market. Because previous to the late 1990s, it's how it was and the property market still worked,' Henderson said. 'After these changes, if they come into effect, people will be like, "oh", and then they get on with life. Think back to whenever it was when fuel went to three bucks. The world was ending. Businesses are going to collapse. But the world moves on. No one cares.'
Australia's 'cost of spending' crisis
The Western Sydney-born entrepreneur claimed in April last year that Australia is in a 'cost of spending crisis' rather than a cost of living situation. He has since doubled down, stating that Australians are spending too much due to the ease of consuming goods and services. 'We live in a world now where everything's at our fingertips,' Henderson said. '50 years ago, you had to get out of your car to spend money. For example, it's a Friday night, right? And you want to get some takeaway food. You weren't jumping on Uber Eats to get takeaway food and have it at your door in 15 minutes. I think people like discipline, and when they lack discipline, it's easy to do s*** that you shouldn't do.'
The founder of Henderson Advocacy has also taken aim at the idea of young people having to make 'sacrifices'. 'There's no such thing as sacrifice. It's an overused term,' he added. 'If you, for example... have kids early before you've bought a house because kids are more important to you than buying a house... you've made that choice. You've made the choice to go back to one income. You've made the choice to do that before you've purchased the home. And there's no right or wrong, right?'
From humble beginnings to controversy
Henderson came from humble beginnings and amassed a multi-million dollar business after being expelled from school at 15. He owns a McLaren and an Aston Martin and purchased his first property for $720,000 in 2015. A controversial figure, he has surged in popularity recently, with hats bearing slogans such as 'Depreciation Daddy' and 'Raise Rents' drawing mixed reactions. His confident persona has drawn the ire of many Australians who believe he is 'out of touch with the average person'. When asked about this sentiment, Henderson replied: 'Maybe I don't want to be in touch with them.'
Median house price not a fair measure
Henderson's strong comments come as Sydney's median house price sits at just under $1.8 million, a figure that has dropped by 0.04 per cent in the recent quarter due to poor affordability and deteriorating consumer confidence. However, the multi-millionaire stated that using median prices as a measuring stick for affordability is 'not accurate'. 'I think we look at these median prices these days, and that's what people judge. To use the same data and say that it's unaffordable in comparison to what it was 50 or 60 years ago is not an accurate representation of society. Of course it's going to outpace income growth for the average person because they're not average places. But if you use the average income and compare it to an average place, then it looks much more attractive. It doesn't look like it's super unaffordable.'
