Real estate commentator Tom Panos has publicly criticised Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese for claiming his government's housing tax reforms are working, arguing the data tells a different story. Albanese had shared a video insisting that changes to negative gearing and capital gains tax were easing competition for first-home buyers and boosting new housing supply, prompting Panos to sarcastically declare the housing crisis was "going brilliantly" and question the figures being cited.

Panos pointed to Australian Bureau of Statistics lending data for the June quarter of 2026, which showed first-home-buyer loans fell 2.9 per cent over the quarter and were flat year-on-year, while investor loan numbers dropped 8.6 per cent and their value fell 10.2 per cent, with overall new dwelling loan commitments down 5.4 per cent. The reforms, introduced in Labor's May Budget, scrapped the capital gains discount in favour of indexation and removed negative gearing benefits for investment properties other than new builds; while many commenters accused Albanese of "gaslighting" the public over rents and affordability, others, including buyer's agent Nathan Birch, said the changes had pushed investors and first-home buyers into competing in the same cheaper market segments.