Category Archives: Housing

The true cost of NIMBYism

Posted on November 14, 2011 by

A home is the biggest purchase most Australians will make in their lifetime and yet most of us know very little about the forces that determine what types of homes are available to live in and what we must pay … Continue reading →

Posted in Housing, Reserve Bank | Leave a comment

Home sweet tax shelter: why we should tax land

Posted on October 3, 2011 by

Forget the Bahamas or Cayman Islands. Australians have created the best tax shelter on earth: Australian property. Ahead of next week’s tax forum in Canberra, we can expect to hear a lot about the need to increase the goods and … Continue reading →

Posted in Housing, Tax | Leave a comment

So where does all our money go?

Posted on September 12, 2011 by

Short of rifling through neighbours’ rubbish bins, there is no better way to compare what your household spends with the rest of Australia than the Bureau of Statistics’ survey of household expenditure released this week. Conducted every six years, the … Continue reading →

Posted in Budget, Housing | 1 Comment

Singing a new tune on housing

Posted on August 31, 2011 by

Australians are singing a new tune on housing. The theme song of the 2000s, “money for nothing”, landed first-home buyers in Dire Straits. With home affordability severely stretched, it’s time for a new rhyme: “If you can’t be with the … Continue reading →

Posted in Housing | 1 Comment

Whither house prices?

Posted on August 15, 2011 by

Want to hear some good news? Amid the sharemarket turmoil, street riots and other portents of impending apocalypse, relative calm has descended on the Australian housing market. Home affordability has improved.

Posted in Banks, Employment, Housing, Interest Rates, Reserve Bank | Leave a comment

Don’t be fooled by the whinging, we’re ok

Posted on August 1, 2011 by

We don’t like carbon taxes and we don’t like boats. Mention population growth and we’re at each other’s throats. We don’t like interest rate rises and we disdain debt. We can’t stomach liars and we never forget. Australians, it seems, … Continue reading →

Posted in Behavioural Economics, Employment, Housing, Inflation, Interest Rates, Reserve Bank | 3 Comments

No more flogging the debt horse

Posted on July 22, 2011 by

A golden age for Australian retailers is over. Gone. Finished. Retailers offer plenty of short-termscapegoats for their current woes: the carbon tax, the flood levy, the higher Australian dollar, higher interest rates. But, in reality, the current downturn in retail … Continue reading →

Posted in Banks, Housing, Inflation, Interest Rates | 1 Comment

What next for your mortgage?

Posted on July 11, 2011 by

Interest rates are going up. No, wait! Interest rates are going down. Er, interest rates are staying on hold. Confused? The global financial crisis has claimed a new victim: the interest rate forecasting industry. Predicting monthly moves by the Reserve … Continue reading →

Posted in Climate change, Gillard Government, Housing, Inflation, Interest Rates, Reserve Bank | Leave a comment

which households consume the most electricity?

Posted on May 16, 2011 by

HOUSEHOLDS on the upper north shore of Sydney are among the biggest culprits in consuming household electricity, the main driver of domestic contribution to climate change.

Posted in Climate change, Housing, NSW | Leave a comment

families: Sydney’s hidden homeless

Posted on May 16, 2011 by

THE number of homeless families in Sydney has risen alarmingly, says a report. Families are the hidden face of homelessness, making up between a quarter and one-third of Australia’s homeless population, says the Wesley Mission, which provides crisis accommodation to … Continue reading →

Posted in Housing | Leave a comment