[roenxi]

An ever-popular opinion. And the usual counterargument:

If it costs $100k to build a house, these measures all but ensure that anyone who can't save up $100k will be homeless, because there is no reason for people with savings to build up a surplus of housing beyond their own needs.

Note that wealthy people, due to their disproportionate wealth, control how resources are allocated. If there are harsh punishments for allocating resources to housing, then there will be (substantially!) fewer houses.

Although in Australia the situation is beyond a joke. It is already ugly. If the government doesn't stop putting in artificial measures to prop up housing prices it'll keep getting more unpleasant until something breaks down into violence.