The Block auctioneer Tom Panos has said disparaging comments sparked by an Afghan family’s purchase of a $1.5million home in Sydney have exposed the deep-rooted anger many Aussies feel about being priced out of the property market.
The Afghan immigrants bought the four-bedroom property at an auction last weekend and were congratulated by Mr Panos, who described them as a ‘wonderful family’.
But their happy moment was quickly soured after a number of Aussies questioned how immigrants from a poor nation could afford to buy a house in Sydney.
‘A family from Afghanistan, one of the poorest nations on Earth, where 85 per cent live on less than a dollar a day just bought a $1.5million home in Guildford. So how does (an) immigrant from Afghanistan afford a million-dollar property in Western Sydney?’ one person wrote on X.
‘In theory, these are refugees fleeing hardship. Yet in practice, they’re entering one of the world’s most inflated housing markets and somehow outbidding Australians who’ve spent their entire lives here.’
‘What the f*** man? I’m born and raised in Australia and bust my a**e across two jobs, my wife has a great job, we pay an obscene amount of tax and we are jumping through so many hoops to afford a house in Adelaide that (is) less than half the price of this one. It’s bulls***,’ another posted.
Mr Panos said the demeaning comments were not surprising as the property market becomes increasingly more ruthless and demanding.
‘They happen on a weekly basis when I look at the comments on my posts,’ he told news.com.au.
Despite costing $1.5million, the Guildford home 27km from Sydney’s CBD was modest
Block auctioneer Tom Panos (pictured) said the demeaning comments were also due to frustration from Aussies trying to get a foothold in the housing market
‘This has been going on for a couple of years and it seems to come to the surface when the market is hot and buyers are getting frustrated that they’re missing out.’
Other Aussies stood up for the family, reminding others that they may simply have worked hard since moving to Australia.
‘Remember when Greek and Italians formed groups to buy houses? Build one as a group, then another,’ one wrote on X.
‘It’s called ‘supporting’ each other. Applaud him for putting down roots and not taking up rental properties.’
‘Could have been here for 15 years, qualified as a plumber and worked 24/7,’ a second wrote.
Mr Panos said families like the one who bought the Guildford property deserved to enjoy the fruits of their labour.
The auctioneer added that the comments were less about racism and more about an overall frustration with Australia’s housing crisis.
‘They’re running very tight budgets, and they’re trying to put a roof over their family’s head, and taking advantage of the great opportunity that they’ve been given coming to live in Australia,’ he told the publication.
The X post that sparked fierce debate about Australia’s housing market is pictured
The Guilford home (pictured) was worth about the national average
The agent who sold the house, Steven Khawam, said the buyers were very humble and hadn’t used government support.
Sydney’s average house price is around $1.58million, and rose by 3.8 per cent in the past year.
House prices are expected to continue to grow due to the Albanese government’s five per cent deposit scheme.
The scheme does help first home buyers, but economists have warned it’s driven the surge in property prices of late.
In the year to March, net overseas migration added 315,900 people to the population, down from the 2023 record of 518,000 migrants.
Daily Mail has contacted Mr Panos for further comment.
