The Elephant In The Room Property Podcast | Inside Australian Real Estate Australia’s Housing Incentives Are Backfiring
Australian property prices are often treated as a national scoreboard—up means success, down means failure.
But what if that assumption is wrong? In this episode, we interrogate one of the most polarising ideas in housing today: that Australia’s obsession with ever-rising property prices is doing more harm than good.
Joining Veronica and Chris is Adam Schwab, founder of Luxury Escapes and a sharp, outspoken commentator on economics, inflation, and corporate behaviour. Coming from outside the property industry, Adam brings a contrarian lens to housing—questioning whether property has become an unproductive asset, how easy credit and government incentives have distorted prices, and why policies like 5% deposit schemes may be helping vendors more than buyers.
The conversation digs deep into rental yields versus capital growth, the role of the RBA in inflating asset prices, and why high house prices don’t actually benefit most owner-occupiers. Adam challenges the idea that owning property equals success, arguing that Australia’s fixation on housing is crowding out productive investment, innovation, and long-term economic resilience.
This is a robust, sometimes uncomfortable discussion about incentives, risk, and who really wins when property prices keep climbing. If you care about affordability, fairness, and the future of Australia’s economy — not just short-term price movements—this episode will force you to rethink what “good” housing policy actually looks like.
Episode Highlights
00:00 — Introduction to the Episode and Guest
00:56 — Adam Schwab's Contrarian Views on Property
01:37 — Debating Property Prices and Investment
02:49 — Renting vs. Buying: A Financial Analysis
05:43 — The Impact of High Property Prices on Society
19:02 — Monetary Policy and Housing Market
26:50 — Reverse Mortgages and Their Implications
27:32 — The 40-50 Year Loan Debate
28:31 — Government Policies and Housing Market
29:09 — Economic Logic vs. Political Motives
29:33 — Risks of New Property Incentives
31:22 — Banking System and Housing Bubble
33:41 — Immigration and Housing Affordability
35:28 — Leveraging and Property Investment
42:20 — Comparing Property to Other Investments
47:53 — Global Talent and Property Prices
49:51 — Concluding Thoughts on Property Market
About the Guest
Adam Schwab is the co-founder of Luxury Escapes, one of Australia’s most successful global travel businesses, which he helped scale into a billion-dollar brand. Beyond entrepreneurship, Adam has built a parallel career as a respected financial journalist and commentator, known for his sharp critiques of corporate behaviour, economic policy, and market incentives.
He is also the co-host of The Contrarians podcast, where he regularly challenges mainstream narratives on markets, inflation, and government intervention. Unafraid to question sacred cows — including Australian property — Adam brings an outsider’s perspective grounded in economic fundamentals rather than industry orthodoxy.
In this episode, Adam applies that contrarian mindset to housing, offering candid insights into why Australia’s property system rewards asset inflation over productivity, how easy credit fuels bubbles, and why policy settings may be entrenching inequality rather than solving it.
Connect with Adam
- Adam’s LinkedIn
- Adam’s Instagram
- Luxury Escape's Website
- Luxury Escape’s Facebook
- Luxury Escape’s Instagram
- Luxury Escape’s YouTube
- Luxury Escape’s TikTok
Resources
- Visit our website: https://www.theelephantintheroom.com.au
- If you have any questions or would like to be featured on our show, contact us at:
- The Elephant in the Room Property Podcast - questions@theelephantintheroom.com.au
- Looking for a Sydney Buyers Agent? https://www.gooddeeds.com.au
- Work with Veronica: https://www.veronicamorgan.com.au
- Looking for a Mortgage Broker? alcove.com.au
- Work with Chris: chrisbates@alcove.com.au
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See you on the inside,
Veronica & Chris
