The Answer to our Housing Affordability Challenge is Housing Supply – HIA

The HIA makes some good points about the need for a credible land planning body to provide national monitoring and forecasting of future land release and housing requirements to address housing affordability; but ignores the important point that supply is actually NOT the key issue, because average number of people per property has remained the … Continue reading “The Answer to our Housing Affordability Challenge is Housing Supply – HIA”

Super funds targeted in Shorten’s housing affordability package

From The Conversation. Labor will promise to ban direct borrowing by self-managed superannuation funds, as part of a housing affordability policy released on Friday to pre-empt the government’s package in next month’s budget. This “limited recourse borrowing” – where a creditor has limited claims on the loan if there is a default – has increased … Continue reading “Super funds targeted in Shorten’s housing affordability package”

HIA Housing Affordability

Turning falling home prices into good news is quite an art, but one which HIA managed in their release today! The latest HIA Affordability Report indicates that there has been a steady improvement in housing affordability during the opening months of 2017. The largest improvement in housing affordability during the March 2017 quarter occurred in … Continue reading “HIA Housing Affordability”

Housing affordability takes a $2000 hit in just three months

From The NewDaily. First home buyers will be forced to save an extra $2000 towards a deposit just to keep up with the last three months of price growth, according to CoreLogic data exclusive to The New Daily. The median house price in the eight capital cities is now $613,200, CoreLogic estimated, based on sales in the March quarter. … Continue reading “Housing affordability takes a $2000 hit in just three months”

Record low rates no help to housing affordability

From The Real Estate Conversation. The proportion of income required to meet home loan repayments was 30.4 per cent in the December quarter of 2016, according to the latest Adelaide Bank/REIA Housing Affordability Report. The result was an increase of 0.9 percentage points over the quarter. Housing affordability declined across all Australian states during the quarter, and New … Continue reading “Record low rates no help to housing affordability”

No, Housing Affordability Is Hitting Households Across ALL States

CoreLogic posted an interesting blog today, in which the redoubtable Cameron Kusher says “It is really important to note that the housing affordability challenges are largely a Sydney and Melbourne phenomena”. Now, I have to say, that just not chime with our household finance analysis. Whilst I agree affordability issues are partly a function of … Continue reading “No, Housing Affordability Is Hitting Households Across ALL States”

Housing affordability: Experts see stamp duty cuts hiking prices

From The NewDaily. House prices will increase thanks to a Victorian government decision to scrap stamp duty on some properties, according to experts who warn the move would benefit owners – not first home buyers – if rolled out across the country. Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews on Sunday announced first home buyers would be exempt from paying stamp duty on properties … Continue reading “Housing affordability: Experts see stamp duty cuts hiking prices”

Could 3D-Printing help solve the housing affordability problem?

From Zero Hedge. While 3D-printing may have been faded away in recent years from the spotlight of core “disruptive” technologies, that may soon change again after a company managed to 3D-print an entire house in just 24 hours. Located in Russia, the following 400-square-foot home, or 37 square meters, was built in just a day, … Continue reading “Could 3D-Printing help solve the housing affordability problem?”

Invest in Urban Transport to Fix Housing Affordability

From AAP. Soaring household debt and housing prices could make it “dangerous” to cut interest rates, the head of the Reserve Bank of Australia says. Dr Philip Lowe has told a Federal parliamentary economics committee that a deeper cut to the official cash rate could deliver a short-term boost to jobs and inflation but also … Continue reading “Invest in Urban Transport to Fix Housing Affordability”

Rates on hold, but housing affordability remains ‘hotly debated’

From The Real Estate Conversation. The Reserve Bank has left interest rates at historic lows as economic conditions improve, but the property industry says other measures are required to improve housing affordability. The Reserve Bank of Australia left interest rates on hold at its first meeting of 2017, with rates held at a record low of 1.50 per cent. Governor … Continue reading “Rates on hold, but housing affordability remains ‘hotly debated’”