607 | The Best Lending Structure Today (In the New Negative Gearing Era)

You can watch the YouTube video here.

Two months on from the Budget’s negative gearing and CGT changes…

The data is telling a clear story. In our latest episode, Ben sits down with couch crew Luke Oxenham, investment-savvy mortgage broker, and Polly Chu, Qualified Property Investment Advisor, both fielding real client conversations daily. 

Together, they’re unpacking what’s actually happening on the ground: auction clearance rates stuck below 50% for weeks (the worst run since 2018), open home attendance down 43% year-on-year, and the lending data driving it all. 

• How lenders scrambled to rewrite borrowing power calculators within days of Budget night — some borrowers lost up to $160K in capacity overnight 
• Why majors and smaller lenders are treating investment debt so differently 
• What AFG’s lodgement data really reveals about first home buyers, upgraders and investors 
• The shift toward interest-only loans as borrowers protect negative gearing and build buffers 
• Why this cautious market might be the smartest time for new investors to prepare — and what “prepared” actually means 

Tune in to hear the conversations happening behind closed doors right now.

Free Stuff Mentioned

• Free Webinar: New vs Established Property — What Should You Buy in Today’s Market? 🎙️
  The rules have changed. Should your strategy? Join us live to unpack the real numbers behind buying new vs established in today’s market.
  📅 Tuesday, 28 July 2026, 7:30pm AEST
  👉 Register free 

• Free Borrowing Power Calculator 💰
  Curious what you could actually borrow right now? Run your numbers through Moorr’s latest feature and get clarity in minutes. 
  👉 Get financial clarity now  

• Free Personalised Lending Chat 📞
  Want to know exactly where you stand? Have a free, no-obligation chat with our team and get a lending assessment tailored to you.
  👉 Book your free chat today.

• Between rate rises and rewritten legislation, it’s a lot to keep up with. Got a question?👉 We’ve got you! Send it in for our upcoming Q&A Day >> 

• Resources from this week’s episode: (In order of apperance)  
  • Ray White: Open homes are quieter, but attendance may be stabilising 
  • Westpac-MI Consumer Sentiment July 
  • AFG brokers lodge $28.1 billion in home loans in Q4 FY26 
  • The Advisor:  
    • FHB pullback almost as steep as investor retreat 
    • Majors’ share slips as Westpac tops AFG lodgements 
  • Broker Daily: Westpac forecasts slump in investor activity following budget
     

Timestamps

• 0:00 – 607 | The Best Lending Structure Today (In the New Negative Gearing Era) 
• 1:34 – Free resources: Upcoming webinar, Moorr’s latest borrowing calculator and get a personalised lending assessment. 
• 3:59 – Setting the scene: a market in shock 
• 8:44 – What consumer sentiment is really telling us 
• 10:18 – Budget night broke the calculators 
• 14:07 – How much borrowing power did people actually lose? 
• 22:06 – Who’s really buying right now? 
• 23:31 – Did the Budget actually help first home buyers? 
• 27:49 – The quiet shift to interest-only loans 
• 31:05 – The offset account trick most investors miss 
• 38:27 – Introducing “livevesting” 
• 40:25 – Busting the redraw vs offset myth 
• 48:39 – Good lending hygiene at the top of the cycle 
• 52:08 – Is now a good time for first home buyers? 
• 51:44 – What happens if negative gearing rules change again? 
• 55:59 – Fearful market, smartest opportunity 
• 59:05 – Getting structured to move fast