After months of spruiking the need to keep negative gearing just as it is, Scott Morrison has shared his own personal experience with the tax break.
Speaking to couples with young children at a home in suburban Brisbane, the prime minister told the group of his first apartment with his wife Jenny, totalling just 53 square metres in size.
"It wasn't big but it was what we could afford," he said on Saturday.
The pair negatively geared the property for some time after they moved into a slightly bigger semi-detached home.
"We held onto it, we negative geared it for a while, and that really helped us... We sold it, we had a lower debt for the next one that we bought."
The tale comes as Labor wants to retain negative gearing only for newly-built homes - with the policy grandfathered so the changes won't apply to existing investors.
The federal government argues the move would reduce the value of people's homes and raise rental costs.
Dan and Emma Willmann, who were hosting Mr Morrison in their Bahrs Scrub home, told the prime minister the value of their property is crucial because they plan to leverage it to grow their business.
Another couple told the prime minister of their desire to upsize, while another were hoping to crack into the market for the first time.
Despite Mr Morrison's focus on how Labor's reforms to housing tax breaks may harm the Queenslanders, the spotlight on Saturday was also on his personal income taxes.
In a debate on Friday night, the prime minister refused to put a figure on how much of his tax policy would go towards people earning more than $180,000.
Pressed on the issue again on Saturday, he stressed that such earners will be shouldering a higher percentage of the nation's tax burden once the coalition's tax plan is fully rolled out.
The prime minister narrowly lost the debate in Brisbane to Labor rival Bill Shorten, according to an audience of 109 undecided voters.
A wise crack from Mr Shorten proved among the most memorable moments of the evening, with the Labor leader calling his opponent a "space invader" for getting close to him while asking about his tax plans, to gleeful applause.
The prime minister appears to have no regrets about how he performed.
"Wise cracks and stunts isn't how you run a country," he told reporters.
Earlier on Saturday Mr Morrison visited the mental health organisation Canefields Clubhouse on Saturday, which will be among recipients of $100 million in funding promised to health services in Queensland's southeast.
By his side was local Liberal National Party member Bert van Manen, who has held the seat of Forde in Brisbane's south since 2010.
He is buffered by a margin of just 0.63 per cent this election, as he faces a tough fight with Labor candidate Des Hardman.
