Like most on paper millionaires. they never lifted a finger. It's called 'negative gearing'.

Like everything else, it has it's ying and yang. The yang bit is called a not-to-far-away recession, due to our artificial economy that's growth has been consumer led with a massive spending spree [of borrowed fake property value equity, called the ''debt semi-trailer'] led by the ying [negative gearing], put in place by Howard and co.
We have all been lulled into thinking everything is just peachy, while Howard's mates the property investors [they have all moved to Perth now thank God], get disgustingly rich!