An apologist for the business sector. So is your voice for sale? You could sell yourself!

Well said! I’m in my mid-sixties, and things have never been as good as they are now, in my lifetime.

People don’t appear to even know what ‘personal responsibility’ is these days. It’s always someone else’s fault, or it’s the government’s responsibility to look after them.

There was a report in ‘The Australian’ recently with an alternative view to the housing “problem”, suggesting that the whole thing was the creation of the avaricious housing industry and ALP spin doctors. The latter don’t really believe the polls, and are getting desperate – to the point where they are trying to deny the self-evident economic triumph of the Government.

The author writes: “In seeking a particular lifestyle or a new house while still maintaining the life the mortgagor had before taking out their loan, the household budget has just been stretched too far. People have bitten off more than they can chew.
That says it all!

Home ownership is not a right. If you want your own house, try going without plasma TV, more than one car and the many other unnecessary things. When the house is paid for, then you can have the luxuries.

And let’s not forget the dills who will always be losers – because of their own inability to budget and save – no matter how good things are. Nobody can help them

I am 30, Leigh is 60 (something), and we both agree.

Everytime I hear someone say "I have a right to..." I shudder because of the downstream consequences that may occur, some of which the author has more than amply demonstrated.

One wonders whether a correction and/or crash would actually make people think about these things. In todays climate, it's hard to imagine that it would...

Yes, I agree that in some cases, borrowers have 'bitten off more than they can chew' but when Government leaders lie their way into power by spreading deception about how much better "they" are at running the economy and promising all kinds of utopian views for our future prosperity under their leadership, it's no wonder people rush out and commit themselves to a lifetime of punishing work regimes in order to keep up with mortgage repayments.

Now, throw in "workchoices" and watch the fur fly. People decided that with both of them working at the same rate of pay that they can afford the mortgage, then suddenly one of them is "tapped on the shoulder" under the guise of "restructuring" and they're in the deep end of the financial pool and drowning in debt.

Adding to this, an explosion in immigrants is pushing the price of inner city homes out of the reach of ordinary working Aussies. Too many people, too few homes which sets in place a rental position where there is a huge shortage of rental accommodation making a mortgage in outlying areas attractive. Sometimes there's little difference between paying off a mortgage and paying rent. I hold the Government, both past and present, to blame for that situation. It is, after all, their policies that create the illusion of continuous growth on the back of higher immigration levels.

It's the Government of the day in recent times that have fooled people into unrealistic expectations of continuous wealth, an ever rising economy and continuously rising rent. I believe the Government has a lot to answer for.

I really dislike this generational divide that seems to dominate discussions. The behaviour of home buyers is similar to the classic investor behaviour. Investor decisions tended to be clouded by either fear or greed. This was exactly the same 30 years ago as it is today.

I bought my first home in 1981 at the peak of the market and shortly afterwards interest rates rose sharply. My housing investment didn’t look so good for the first two years but then inflation saved the day. Interest rates stayed high but both wages and house prices kept rising with the inflation. Inflation meant that my mortgage costs were an ever decreasing portion of my income.

The reason that home buyers today have it so tough is that there is not enough inflation to cover up their mistakes.

I agree with the gist, but Felicity, you might want to research your pieces a bit better next time:

You wrote:

"Today, however, there has never been a better time to borrow if you’re a young family, or a single person aiming to get into the property market. Housing affordability might be up - that’s just the consequence of high demand in a booming economy flush with money - but the ability to get into the market as a borrower due to lower rates has never been easier. Why, then, is it such a struggle for today’s borrowers?"

Que? I had a severe case of cognitive dissonance trying to process the above.. it just isn't true. Housing affordability is, by all measures, DOWN, not up - i.e. it is harder to buy, average house prices are a GREATER proportion of average wages. Even if this is what you meant, how is it helpful to go on to explain that it is easier than ever to borrow through more lax credit requirements from lenders? That is the whole problem, right? I agree that people are borrowing excessively and are heavily exposed to small rate hikes but to say it has never been better is patently false.

You wrote:
"It’s a nice argument. It makes some sense, and explains much of the grumbling around the time the Reserve Bank of Australia meets each quarter to make its decision to change (or leave) the official cash rate."

The RBA meets monthly to assess monetary policy (11 times, no meeting January), not quarterly.

The central point about personal responsibility is valid for sure but you could have expressed your view better.

And as for Aime, you are a perfect example of the problem. As for the 'blame the immigrants' angle, I am pretty sure Pauline Hanson has a party for people like you...