Mailbag, incl: Can borrowing for shares close the gap to property? June 21, 2026

“The maths actually maths.” That line from listener Hayden captures the central question of this episode of Motley Fool Money: if leverage is the secret sauce behind property’s wealth-building power, does a product like NAB Equity Builder—which lets you borrow to buy shares—narrow the gap more than most people realise? Hosts Scott Phillips and Andrew “Ram” Page spend the mailbag episode wrestling with that question, along with a listener’s proposal to strip politicians of their pensions for broken promises, and a skilled migrant’s frustration with Australia’s tax and immigration systems.

Leverage, Property, and the Equity Builder Question

Hayden’s question is deceptively simple. He’s a passive index investor and a fresh homeowner. He knows that borrowing is the main reason residential property has been such a powerful wealth creation tool. With NAB Equity Builder charging around 7.75%—not wildly different from an investment property loan at 6.5-7%—and factoring in property’s maintenance costs (roughly 1% of purchase price per annum), stamp duty, insurance, and management fees, he wonders whether the maths actually favours leveraged ETF investing instead.