Published by the Australian Financial Review by Michael Bleby The number of empty houses and apartments in Melbourne is much higher than traditional estimates, with as many as one-fifth of all investor-owned properties lying empty, according to a study of water usage...
BLOG: Campaigns
Value Capture for Victoria
Debate over the new Melbourne Metro Tunnel and the funding needed is expected to heat up now that PM Abbott has said the $1.5 for the E-W Link is 'locked in a box'. An interesting article in The Age highlighted the need for value capture: One idea floated this...
OECD’s Housing Concerns
Yesterday's OECD Economic Survey of Australia pinpointed key areas of risk. As Philip Soos and Paul Egan showed today in their 21 chart pack, Australia's land bubble and accommodating credit cycle opens the economy to incredible risk. But the Abbott government...
Value Capture trumps Tolls
Yesterday's press release was quoted in The Age article Pay Up: Grand Plan to get big projects built. After quoting the soft option of tolling drivers, which has failed spectacularly as a financing mechanism in NSW and QLD, the article moves on to quote the RACV's...
Open Letter to Matthew Guy, Please Explain Why Housing is for Hocking
Dear Matthew, this week we released our 7th Speculative Vacancies report - Empty Investment Homes Ignored, finding 46,836 empty homes in Melbourne. Read the press release. Despite your valiant efforts in bending over backwards to provide extensive land re-zoning both...
Report: Speculative Vacancies 7
Download Catherine Cashmore's investigation into why empty investor homes are ignored in Speculative Vacancies 7. Read past vacancy reports. Related media: Press Release - Empty Investment Homes Hurt Affordability Renegade Economists radio interview with Catherine...
Sen Xenophon put on notice by affordability petition, follow up
Cross posted from the Rational Radical By Matt Ellis Last week I had the opportunity to speak to Senator Nick Xenophon about our petition against his plans to allow first home buyers to use superannuation funds for housing deposits. It seems he had at least taken some...
Petition for Genuine Housing Reform
A Petition by Rational Radical Hi, my name is Matt, and I'm one of many young Australians currently locked out of home ownership by record high prices. My friends know me as very vocal and frequently angry about housing affordability issues. Well the latest...
Don’t get fined $30,000 for moving house!
“A citizen can hardly distinguish between a tax and a fine,” wrote G.K. Chesterton, “except that the fine is generally much lighter.” In Victoria, for example, the stamp duty payable on the purchase of a $600,000 house-land package (below the median price for...
Necessary Vic State Government housing policy improvements
A budget for the people by the people may well see some of the following policy reforms announced at tomorrow night's State budget: Reiterate Local Council financial independence The Labor Parties naivete in announcing a proposed cap on local council rates must be...