Barefoot Investor Scott Pape hits back at woman who called him a 'racist' and 'bigot' after he weighed in on Australia's housing crisis

The Barefoot Investor Scott Pape has hit back at a woman who called him a 'racist' and a 'bigot' after he hit out over soaring levels of immigration.

Last week, Mr Pape wrote a column questioning why Australia is welcoming a record intake in the middle of a crippling housing crisis.

'Yes, there's more to solving the property crisis than immigration,' he said

'There's the tax breaks that favour investors, a genuine lack of supply, and more social housing that needs to be built.

'Yet the fact remains that, as it stands, overseas arrivals are outpacing the construction of new homes at a rate of almost four to one.

'Why are we currently bringing in 2000 new migrants a day – 659,800 in the last year – when the rental market is in crisis?'

Mr Pape likened the situation to attempting to overcrowd a paddock with too many 'sheep' on his family farm.

'Our politicians like to crow about how we're the 'lucky country' that hasn't had a recession for a record-breaking 34 years,' he said.

'Yet we've largely achieved it by bringing more people into our paddock.'

Despite prefacing the column by saying he's not 'anti-immigration' or 'xenophobic', his comments had struck a nerve with some Aussies.

Reader Yvonne was among those who was not impressed.

You're a racist bigot, Barefoot,' she wrote. 'What a load of claptrap. You've taken a complex and highly emotive issue and boiled it down to one simplistic factor: housing'.

Yvonne added that the finance guru's 'populist argument' had omitted a number of other issues influencing high immigration levels.

'Why are these "sheep'" fleeing their countries?' she questioned.

'What economic GOOD will these migrants do for our country, both now and in the future?

'Your dinky, populist piece stunk of both racism and NIMBY-ism (Not In My Back Yard). Do better.'

Pape thanked Yvonne for her feedback on the column and said that the housing crisis had been brewing for many years and that hard-working immigrants were not to blame for the issue.

'I strongly believe that secure affordable housing is a basic human right, especially given we live in the richest country on Earth,' Mr Pape explained.

'It all begins at home. And right now, there are practically zero rentals available for people in the bottom 30 percent of income earners, who traditionally rent.'

'As I said in the column, the solution is, to use your word "nuanced" and multifaceted: expand the supply of new homes, end tax breaks that favour investors, and build a lot more social and community housing,' he wrote.

'We're in a hole. It's time to stop digging.'

In the year to September, Australia built 170,215 houses and units, a level well below the record net overseas migration level of 548,800 for the same period, Australian Bureau of Statistics data showed.

With the average Australian household having 2.5 people, that means there’s a housing shortfall of more than 123,000 dwellings.

The nation's population grew by 2.5 per cent to 26.8 million over the same period, an annual increase of 659,800 people.

Western Australia had the fastest growing population, up 3.3 per cent compared with the previous year.

Victoria was in second place with growth of 2.9 per cent, while Tasmania had the least growth, at 0.3 per cent.

Australia added 172,700 people in the July to September quarter last year, while net overseas migration was 145,200.

The government said its push to bring down net migration was unlikely to be shown in the latest data.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the migration and population figures were lower than what was anticipated.

Following a review, the government has reduced the number of student visa approvals in a bid to stop the rorting of the international education system.

Government forecasts show net overseas migration will be halved by next year.