The Victorian Government wants to, needs to, spend billions on Melbourne transport to catch up with the city’s explosive growth. As John Legge kindly points out in a must-read at The Age: “The affluent have crossed the Yarra and now colonise almost all of the zone-one...
BLOG: affordability
Institutionalised exploitation – class warfare – infuriates me
‘We help property sellers sell’ is realestate.com.au’s proud claim. It is shocking to discover how far this News Corporation subsidiary is prepared to go to fullfil this promise. An un-named writer penned a delightful upbeat article on their website based on research...
Goodbye to high land prices
Next week, a disappointed man and his family are flying out to a new life in Seattle, Washington. They came to Australia seeking new opportunities in a high growth economy. They love Australia, love Melbourne, but have been driven away by land prices that would...
Written Off: Negative Gearing Report
by Philip Soos Executive Summary Negative gearing is a popular investment strategy as it allows a net loss to be deducted against an investor’s personal tax liability at their marginal tax rate. While negative gearing has likely been in operation since the first...
Housing Bubble – Don’t Buy Now!
David Collyer's edited presentation from our Northcote Town Hall event earlier this year. With a jump in job losses last quarter, stock levels at near record levels, land supply in abundance and over 90,000 vacant properties here in Melbourne, one wonders how long...
Renovating for fun and profit
Toby Johnstone in the Sydney Morning Herald is at it again, suggesting renovating for profit in Sydney makes sense. On September 8 he profiled 50 Princes Street Bexley where a bright-eyed couple spent 5 years reclaiming a ‘swamp’. The property is now for sale at...
A recipe for stability – introspective, moribund stability
Dr Ellis is no help for the vast majority of Australians who simply want a home to call their own and not be some cats-paw in financier rent-seeking.
What a load of garbage!
Hobsons Bay Council is considering charging residents by the kilogram for garbage removal. While markets have their place, putting a price on rubbish will have many unintended consequences, few of them pleasant. The anti-social will cost-shift, stuffing their garbage...
Big Holes or Money Pits?
Major transport projects costing billions are being proposed for Sydney and Melbourne to shrink these sprawling cities. NSW Premier Barry O’Farrell’s plans to ‘fix’ Parramatta Road by ripping it up and installing the M3 in a cut-and-cover tunnel. The poor state of...
House prices stagnate
The ABS Eight Capital Cities House Price Indexes 6416.0 released today shows the property market is totally stagnant with prices unmoved, says Prosper Australia. “Property spruikers calling ‘Bottom!’ based on this data - and they will be – are misleading homebuyers....