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...
BLOG: David Collyer
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...
Baillieu’s new Building Tax and Land Subsidy
“This reform means Victorians have a new building tax while the value of our fire service boosts the price of land.”
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....
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...
Nobody wants a mortgage
11 July 2012 ABS Housing Finance data out today shows a 7.3 per cent fall in commitments to buy new-built houses in a singe month. This follows a 9.3 per cent fall the month before. "Established house price are now at such a discount to newly-built that buyers are...