The weighted net annual rate of return on land investment in Melbourne 1880-92 was a remarkably high 34.6 per cent, peaking at 78.3 per cent in 1887, according to a fascinating paper researcher Philip Soos has unearthed Rates of Return on Melbourne Land...
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Can the Senate address housing affordability
By Catherine Cashmore Reposted from Macrobusiness In the final hours of Federal Parliament for 2013, Labor Senator Jan McLucas succeeded in establishing an inquiry by the Economics References Committee, in addressing Australia’s growing housing affordability crisis,...
Kohler condemns expensive land
Alan Kohler is out this morning on Business Spectator with a big swipe at Conservative state governments. Yes, that is conservative with a capital ‘C’. He sees at last the destruction the cost of land is wreaking from Port Hedland to Hobart. The high price of land in...
The mystery of unearned income
As published today on Truthout The wealth gap is dividing society at an astonishing rate as the lessons from the Great Recession are helicoptered away. QE3 has worked for Wall St but little else. Over 30 nations are facing the shock and awe of property bubbles as the...
Companies spy a way to exploit tenants
By Philip Soos and Paul Egan Reposted from Business Spectator Suspend disbelief for a moment and imagine you are a residential landlord with a property for rent, seeking prospective tenants through a property manager. After advertising, it later comes to your...
Stamp Duty stifles labor mobility
The Productivity Commission is out with a major study that recommends ending Stamp Duty on conveyances in favor of a land value tax to avoid trapping people in their homes when better jobs beckon elsewhere. The Geographic Labor Mobility report examines the match...
Total Resource Rents of Australia
Major Findings The Total Resource Rents of Australia report finds: The influence of monopoly is 10 times greater than mainstream economists acknowledge. Economic rents are a significant component of the Australian economy, comprising 23.6% of GDP. Almost half of all...
Land tax must kill negative gearing, Stamp Duty
There’s been a lot of debate around property taxation in Australia – significantly negative gearing, which allows an investor to use the short fall between interest repayments and other relevant expenditure, to lower their income tax.
LVT must replace NG, Stamp Duty
By Catherine Cashmore Follow Catherine on Twitter Cross-posted from Macrobusiness There’s been a lot of debate around property taxation in Australia; significantly negative gearing, which allows an investor to use the short fall between interest repayments and other...
The Housing Bubble and Lazy Land Use
As published in today's Online Opinion The beauty of the disinformation is staggering. As house prices accelerate 7.6% nationally, poor housing supply continues to be blamed for the housing crisis. Meanwhile, the sixth Speculative Vacancies report found over 64,000...