photo credit: Congratulations Citizens! The Economist says your home is the most expensive among the advanced countries we generally compare ourselves with. Before you puff out your chest in pride, consider what this means. Mortgage repayments are the heaviest in the...
BLOG: Commentary
Anderson on Gann, Business Cycles
Part 2 in Phil Anderson's Asset Bubbles Forever presentation. Phil talks about WD Gann, 18 year cycles and interprets the 1929 Depression. Cycles are essential understandings and here Phil builds the framework. Check Economic Indicator Services for more from Phil.
Housing affordability plummets
Is The Age suffering from split personality disorder? On page 8 of The Sunday Age (18.4.10) we read that house shopping is a "nightmare", the market is "out of control" and that we are heading toward being a rental society where only the rich can afford to own a...
Henry Review Releasing Soon
photo credit: Erica_Marshall Stephen Long at the ABC has written two articles in 2 days on genuine tax reform, commenting on the rumour that the Henry Review will promote a broad based Land tax, including the family home. Let's hope Ken Henry's press release starts...
Planning, Property and Economics
photo credit: earthsharing australia Thomas Kokkinos-Kennedy Semester 1, 2009, Assessment Two Research Essay Are the concepts and ideas proposed by Henry George in 1879 still relevant in understanding socio-economic aspects of the property market in contemporary...
The Cost of Living – Somewhere, Anywhere
photo credit: MarcelGermain Should I buy now or rent and save a bigger deposit while I wait? Houses cost money. How much should they cost? These are long-life assets and the price paid can change a lot. Good timing can lead to a lifetime of heavy debt repayment or a...
Tax reform is hard and dreary work.
photo credit: Cayusa Tax reform is hard for government: losers complain loud and long, while those who will benefit are suspicious and silent. We should be angry as hell about the tax system. It scoops up the earnings of the poor but merely nips at what the wealthy...
Turnover Dropping
photo credit: Praveen M Tomy Fans of Gavin Putland's work will have read today's piece on Housing Market Tipped to Weaken as Buyers Retreat. High auction clearance rates and record prices notwithstanding, official figures show the number of loans to buy houses in...
Steve Keen the Property Prophet predicts doom and shows why.
Unconventional prophets are often vilified, particularly in their own country. Steve Keen is no exception. He is one of only a handful of academic economists to contest the rah rah rah of the property spivs who claim - wrongly and misleadingly - that real estate...
Six Factors to Flip Negative Gearing into Negative Equity – Someone’s Going to Get Hurt
The Australian Tax Office has released figures on the extent of negative gearing in Australia ahead of the Henry Tax Review. This is no accident. They are preparing the ground for Ken Henry’s changes. The picture drawn is not pretty: it shows the nation’s...