Latest News & Commentary
Time for Change
The Letters Editor Progress Leader (Boroondara) 5 November 2013 Time for Change Your feature on property (29/10) brings out the contrast between overseas investments in Balwyn and how increasing “house prices” are deterring first home buyers. One real estate...
ABC on Speculative Vacancies
Journalist Michael Janda conducted this interview with Philip Soos yesterday. The audio can be heard here. ELEANOR HALL: A report by property think tank Prosper Australia has found that tens of thousands of homes in Melbourne appear to be unoccupied. The group says...
Housing Affordability Policy Crisis
Housing policy remains in crisis as today's 8 capital cities index revealed a rise of 7.6%, with Melbourne up 6.8%. "This heralds Victorian housing affordability policy a distinct failure. Never before have so many generous exemptions been given to the property...
Speculative Vacancies in Melbourne: 2013 Report
Executive Summary This Speculative Vacancies report has sought to measure the number of residential and commercial properties in Melbourne that are vacant and held out of use. Residential rents surged between 2007 and 2010, imposing financial stress on many tenants....
Undertows drown strong swimmers metres from the beach
The ANZ property economics team is out in the AFR today with a bold prediction of a rise in house prices. ANZ’s David Cannington is one of the most clear-eyed economists in Australian property and this forecast must be taken seriously. As usual, the devil is in the...
The Age of Vacant Homes
Jason Dowling, City Editor at The Age wrote up our report in Southbank properties left high and dry, to be launched tonight: The Speculative Vacancies in Melbourne report, now in its sixth year, looked at water use data from Melbourne's big water retailers. It found...
Melbourne is planning to fail
The Victorian government today released its metropolitan planning strategy Plan Melbourne at an industry seminar in the Melbourne convention centre. It puts in place the preconditions for a city that is: • Economically divided • Highly livable for those with the price...
Property industry supports land tax
22 October 2013 MELBOURNE:- Overnight, Australia’s property industry has endorsed removing Stamp Duty on property transactions, the AFR reports - a major tax policy shift welcomed by Prosper Australia. “Scrap Stamp Duty and fund this by also removing the principal...
Speculative Vacancies report – Empty Homes Help Whom?
Thurs Oct 31st, 6.30pm Presenter: Philip Soos 2/22 Punch Lane, CBD RSVP What could thousands of empty homes do for affordable housing? Philip Soos is set to release our most comprehensive report, with over 94% of Melbourne's residential property surveyed for a full 12...
‘Infrastructure Government’ needs new funding model
The new Liberal Federal government has boldly declared themselves the 'infrastructure government'. This infers they have a method to finance the backlog of infrastructure demanded. Tapping superannuation as the source of cheap finance has been the proposed path...
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