Housing links
Why property is a dangerous investment.
The amazing Hong Kong property boom may be peaking.
Chinese banks have been told to stress-test housing loans.
Nice Vanity Fair piece on the Irish housing and banking disaster.
In Beijing, the civil defence underground bunkers are being rented out to give folk somewhere they can afford to live.
Suggesting cities are becoming less vehicles of social mobility.
Looking at US domestic migration and housing affordability. Looking atthe stunning collapse in house construction in the US. The price-to-rent ratio in the US is returning to its historical long-term trend of 1:1. Useful post with informative graphs considering a recent US Treasury report on housing policy. Useful post with links on supply restrictions in various countries and jurisdictions.
A comparison of both UK and German housing markets show that land-rationing by regulation produces both much more expensive housing but also much more volatile housing markets. Noting the impact of local government finance systems on planning incentives.
Defending the median house price/household income measure:
The critics never bother to mention that the survey methodology, based on the median multiple, is a measure recommended by the United Nations and World Bank Urban Indicators Programs and employed by Harvard University's joint centre for housing - to name just three reputable institutions.
The latest Demographia report continues to garner coverage and publicity.Looking at the games played over housing affordability statistics.
Claiming that Oz does not have a housing bubble. Praising a former bank economists for his commentary on the housing market. Being very sceptical about upbeat arguments about the Oz housing markets. About Australia’s expensive housing and the difference between mortgage and housing affordability. Examining how much more intense housing price inflation is in Australia compared to the US housing bubbles at their worse. New owner-occupier mortgages hits 10 year low. Gold Coast millionaire’s row houses are now selling for single-figure millions rather than double-figure millions. Noting Australia’s nonsense housing prices and arguing for more public housing. Suggesting that Melbourne voter’s resistance to the Brumby Government’s medium density policies helped get it defeated. The Greens condemn the high price of housing. And also. (They, of course, can be relied on to bitterly oppose any policies that would be effective in bringing prices down.) Arguing there is no shortage of housing in Oz. Oz housing prices are plateauing or dropping slightly:
Since prices peaked in May last year, they have fallen by 0.2 per cent in Sydney, 2.1 per cent in Melbourne, 4.1 per cent in Brisbane, 1.4 per cent in Adelaide and 4.7 per cent in Perth.
Report that real estate agents are failing to report failed auctions as number of passed-in houses mounts. New housing loan numbers have dropped dramatically. Dramatic drop in land sales in December quarter. How government policy is shrinking housing block sizes. Explaining nicely, with graphs, what is wrong with housing policy in WA:
if Minister Buswell was really interested in finding a solution to housing affordability, he would look to address WA’s housing supply problems by freeing up overly restrictive planning processes which, according to the Productivity Commission’s recent planning review, takes developers between 3 and 10 years (best case / worst case) to navigate before building can commence. Mr Buswell might also want to reconsider WA’s infrastructure charges, which add $20,000 to the cost of a typical new home.
One comment puts it in perspective:
I’m an out of work old fogey now but I can report that when I was 24, livin’ in the 70′s, I bought an ordinary 3 brm timber house close to CBD Brisbane for $28k. I was earning $14k, about average wages. Ratio 1:2.
Now, I’d need to be earning $250k pa.
The amazing Hong Kong property boom may be peaking.
Chinese banks have been told to stress-test housing loans.
Nice Vanity Fair piece on the Irish housing and banking disaster.
In Beijing, the civil defence underground bunkers are being rented out to give folk somewhere they can afford to live.
Suggesting cities are becoming less vehicles of social mobility.
Looking at US domestic migration and housing affordability. Looking atthe stunning collapse in house construction in the US. The price-to-rent ratio in the US is returning to its historical long-term trend of 1:1. Useful post with informative graphs considering a recent US Treasury report on housing policy. Useful post with links on supply restrictions in various countries and jurisdictions.
A comparison of both UK and German housing markets show that land-rationing by regulation produces both much more expensive housing but also much more volatile housing markets. Noting the impact of local government finance systems on planning incentives.
Defending the median house price/household income measure:
The critics never bother to mention that the survey methodology, based on the median multiple, is a measure recommended by the United Nations and World Bank Urban Indicators Programs and employed by Harvard University's joint centre for housing - to name just three reputable institutions.
The latest Demographia report continues to garner coverage and publicity.Looking at the games played over housing affordability statistics.
Claiming that Oz does not have a housing bubble. Praising a former bank economists for his commentary on the housing market. Being very sceptical about upbeat arguments about the Oz housing markets. About Australia’s expensive housing and the difference between mortgage and housing affordability. Examining how much more intense housing price inflation is in Australia compared to the US housing bubbles at their worse. New owner-occupier mortgages hits 10 year low. Gold Coast millionaire’s row houses are now selling for single-figure millions rather than double-figure millions. Noting Australia’s nonsense housing prices and arguing for more public housing. Suggesting that Melbourne voter’s resistance to the Brumby Government’s medium density policies helped get it defeated. The Greens condemn the high price of housing. And also. (They, of course, can be relied on to bitterly oppose any policies that would be effective in bringing prices down.) Arguing there is no shortage of housing in Oz. Oz housing prices are plateauing or dropping slightly:
Since prices peaked in May last year, they have fallen by 0.2 per cent in Sydney, 2.1 per cent in Melbourne, 4.1 per cent in Brisbane, 1.4 per cent in Adelaide and 4.7 per cent in Perth.
Report that real estate agents are failing to report failed auctions as number of passed-in houses mounts. New housing loan numbers have dropped dramatically. Dramatic drop in land sales in December quarter. How government policy is shrinking housing block sizes. Explaining nicely, with graphs, what is wrong with housing policy in WA:
if Minister Buswell was really interested in finding a solution to housing affordability, he would look to address WA’s housing supply problems by freeing up overly restrictive planning processes which, according to the Productivity Commission’s recent planning review, takes developers between 3 and 10 years (best case / worst case) to navigate before building can commence. Mr Buswell might also want to reconsider WA’s infrastructure charges, which add $20,000 to the cost of a typical new home.
One comment puts it in perspective:
I’m an out of work old fogey now but I can report that when I was 24, livin’ in the 70′s, I bought an ordinary 3 brm timber house close to CBD Brisbane for $28k. I was earning $14k, about average wages. Ratio 1:2.
Now, I’d need to be earning $250k pa.