by Bryan Kavanagh AAPI Today’s Victorian API news demonstrates the Australian Property Institute is at risk of losing its way: “Property taxes shoulder Vic budget The Victorian government is becoming addicted to property taxes, which will raise over $6 billion in...
BLOG: Commentary
Victorian First Home Grants ‘A Cruel Hoax’
28 April 2013 MELBOURNE: - Victoria’s new Treasurer Michael O’Brien taunts first home buyers with a cruel hoax today, announcing grants for new build and targeted stamp duty concessions. He confirmed their role as a patsy for every property-based parasite in...
Bad taxes blight our land
Last week I offered a solution to the blight caused by vacant or disused sites in central Melbourne. Everyone is diminished by landowners leaving valuable land unused while they agitate for rezoning profits. The Age’s Bruce Guthrie hopped into the discussion...
Political Economy Discounted by Constituent Interests
As published in the Economic Society of Victoria's Ceteris Paribus. “You have to ask, if those being duped are too naive to complain, and those profiteering are too valuable to upset, is housing affordability a problem for our politicians, or a gift?” asks Tohm Whitty...
Should we charge Land for vagrancy?
The Melbourne City Council has been urged to apply differential rates “to sites defined as vacant or derelict” by its Future of Melbourne committee. They name to shame the Savoy Tavern on Spencer Street, the Argus building on Latrobe Street and bare land at 567...
Prosper’s New Office
We are proud to announce our new office is up and running. We have moved to 2/22 Punch Lane, Melbourne, located at the Spring St end of Little Bourke St. The Shark Fin Inn is on the corner of Punch Lane and Little Bourke St. Parliament Station is nearest for train....
Stamp Duty: Inefficient, Unreliable, Inequitable
Victoria’s new Treasurer Michael O’Brien has called for a discussion on ending Stamp Duty on property conveyances. Prosper welcomes this opportunity to consider the quality of Victoria’s tax bases and the costs they impose on citizens. Stamp Duty is a very bad...
Hot Speculative Money & Asia
Governments in China, Hong Kong and Singapore are acting to curb property speculation. Zero Hedge comments: The reason for this "hot money" phenomenon is the easy money policy adopted by all the world's central banks (except for the PBOC of course, which is forced to...
A long, ugly list of house price precedents
by Philip Soos For those interested in the Australian residential property market, below are a collection of figures illustrating long-term trends. Housing prices and land values are compared to a basket of fundamental metrics. Australians are fortunate because much...
SMSF – Speculatively Manipulated Skiing Fiesta
That's what the locked out generations may well name Self Manged Super Funds in time. With all the talk about superannuation reform coming out of Canberra, we thought it timely to ask why the latest in speculative subsidies isn't under review? The ability to buy...