photo credit: Dru! A survey of property investors in The Age today by Colemar Brunton shows sentiment delicately poised between those who see the market flat or falling and those anticipating further rises. This is not the bursting of…
photo credit: looseends Saturday mornings at the Richmond market. I hear a fruit stall worker calling his wares: “Last of the carrots! A dollar a bunch! AND THERE’S NO MORE!” Of course, he has carrots by the boxful under…
photo credit: robertivanc The great property speculation game is over in America and Europe. The music has stopped. Forty years of steadily increasing pressure has been released. Houses are worth a fraction of what people paid in better times,…
photo credit: midlander1231 For too long, the media eagerly reported the property spruikers’ claim ‘prices only go higher’. This ‘truth’ turned homeowners into speculators and led a whole generation of first home buyers to commit to enormous mortgages they will…
photo credit: Congratulations Citizens! The Economist says your home is the most expensive among the advanced countries we generally compare ourselves with. Before you puff out your chest in pride, consider what this means. Mortgage repayments are the heaviest in…
photo credit: MarcelGermain Should I buy now or rent and save a bigger deposit while I wait? Houses cost money. How much should they cost? These are long-life assets and the price paid can change a lot. Good timing…
photo credit: Praveen M Tomy Fans of Gavin Putland’s work will have read today’s piece on Housing Market Tipped to Weaken as Buyers Retreat. High auction clearance rates and record prices notwithstanding, official figures show the number of loans to…
The Australian Tax Office has released figures on the extent of negative gearing in Australia ahead of the Henry Tax Review. This is no accident. They are preparing the ground for Ken Henry’s changes. The picture drawn is not…
photo credit: UGArdener This morning, Reserve Bank of Australia Governor Glen Stevens appeared on Seven Network’s Sunrise program to talk up interest rates and talk down the property market. Using tabloid television to broadcast RBA views is unprecedented. It…
photo credit: zachstern Thanks to the many links within Steve Spadijer’s well researched article on a Betterment Levy, we bring to your attention this insightful piece from Time Magazine 1973, The New American Land Rush: On Maine’s Moosehead Lake—frigid in…