Redmond Neck wrote on Feb 20
th, 2014 at 8:28am:
Very interesting documentry!
While I do worry about the Australian property market being in a bubble, I think we are no where in as bad a situation as was Ireland before the bubble burst.
There wouldn't be a financial crisis resulting if our housing Hindenburg were to go down in flames, because our situation is a demand vs availability problem. And it's not cheap & easy credit causing an oversupply situation (as you've pointed out below).
Quote:Firstly we dont have a massive building boom of housing by speculators. (Interestingly that was also what happened in Spain)
Investors invest in new developments, speculators buy up overpriced existing buildings, splash some paint about and put them back on the market at even more inflated prices. These people are in effect parasites, because there is no net gain to the country involved in these type of transactions, there is only hardship being created.
Quote:Also I dont think our banks are lending to all and sundry like in Ireland (and USA) where the borrowers are way in over their heads.
No cheap mortgages in Aussieland, everything here is a rip-off.
Quote:I do think something should be done to take pressure off the prices in places like Sydney, perhaps more land releases or a tightening up on the negative gearing lurk. Not that changes to Negative Gearing has any hope of happening as most politicians probably have their own snouts in that trough.
Sydney is already a sprawling mess, why make it worse. There is plenty of land in this country, and unlike Ireland it's not useful rural land. But the only way we are going to decentralize in an acceptable way is to get rid of the 'Aussie' influence out of government. It's our Aussiness that keeps us huddled together, combine that with the low ethical standards we'd expect from a bunch of ex-convicts, you get high prices (for everything).