BLOG: boom-bust

No, House Prices are not ‘Recovering’

A storm of triumphant prose rolled out to greet yesterday’s release of the authoritative ABS Eight Capital Cities House Price Indexes. Normally-sober Bloomberg told its global audience: “Prices climbed 0.3 per cent in the September quarter from a year ago.” They did -...

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...

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...

Telling the RBA like it is

Reprinted from On Line Opinion 6 Sept 2012 The apathy of economists about the costs and burdens imposed upon modest citizens is staggering, as though this is their natural lot and there is nothing to be done. Housing is a perfect example. We see young adults rejecting...

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....

Don’t blame foreign investment for rising house prices

Republished with thanks from The Conversation One question that arises on the topic of real estate is the scale of foreign investment and ownership in Australia. It is understandable that the public has concerns about such investment, especially as precious little...

Just say No!

Last week, RBA governor Glenn Stevens assured us the big Aussie banks are solvent, that he can and will print dollars if necessary and cannot see a housing bubble pop when he examines the entrails. The only thing in the Guv’s speech we may be certain of is the...

Five reasons First Home Buyers should stand aside

The Don’t Buy Now! campaign urges the landless not to buy real estate until prices reset, just as they have in the countries we compare ourselves to. Property is grossly over valued measured against earnings or the rental income it can generate. This means young...