Thanks for insight into US. Sounds like California equals Australia. The potential that Houston offers in the US is long gone here. Govt made sure of that (see techniques below).

“Meanwhile, back in the normal market of Houston, they are merrily building starter homes of . . for $140,000 on the fringes ($30,000 for the land, $110,000 for actual house construction).”

Could probably do the same here, except Aus policymakers (local, state, national) seem to be vested interests. Their actions have proven that they will do everything in their power to protect their property portfolios, knowingly or unknowingly.

Besides the trickle release of land, check out the other ‘pearls of wisdom’ in the form of policy hurdles/deliberate obstructions laid in the path of affordable housing:
• Tax system highly favourable to debt accelerants such as Interest only loans & negative gearing – especially unwarranted for second hand homes;
• ABS – does not include land inflation in CPI calculations – last decade saw land increase by 200-300% and CPI by about 50% - zzzzzzzz;
• RBA apparently oblivious to its own database of the explosion of retail bank mortgages over last decade (it also used ABS CPI data)
• Liberal/Labor push to artificially double immigration numbers over last decade - need for more consumers for more GST events;
• Duplicit behaviour of main stream media, quick to give a ‘professional’ spruik for real estate but, with few exceptions, indolent in getting to the bottom of housing unaffordability. They do not even try.

Shelter in this country is now deemed a business. It seems to me that govt dream is to eventually have basically landlords and renters.
If some aspect of living does not cause a GST event, create conditions so it does.

How do we ever get a group of people to represent us fairly again? Australia has been sold out.

Well said leela!
Add to this the removal of all restrictions on foreign ownership.
Governance in Australia has been corrupted to a large degree. the media is of course complicit in a *big* way.

Of course all necessities are considered fair game these days by the "profits of doom" brigade: Health, childcare, education and of course finance, including loss generating banks and health insurance, having been made mandatory by tax system and artificially kept afloat by taxpayer largesse...another "free market" abomination the hypocritical "Liberals" insisted on.
Economic theory has an identity: Utility is maximised when company profits are minimised. The economy goes backwards during times of obscene profits...think of them as taxes that go directly to the undeserving monopolists and financial untouchables rather than to the corporate customers, staff and productive workers.
In the last conservative decade we have seen average wages stagnate, Inflation and unemployment redefined to suit the oligarchs and keep the public quiet. The rich got *much* richer, the poor got *much* poorer and now the middle classes (tax payers) will pay for the lot. Seems even criminals can be "too big to fail".

The strongly supply-constrained Australian housing market is without doubt very socially and economically divisive. Consequent high property prices benefit property owners and exclude would-be owners of modest to average means. You would think, this being a representational democracy of sorts, that eventually the have-nots will have a sufficiently weighty voice to bring about change. Perhaps this is why we are now seeing efforts promulgated to lower the expectations of the have-nots, as in Britain, where the populace is being taught that home ownership is unrealistic for many and that renting should be de-stigmatised. A pre-emptive attempt to discourage the younger generation have-nots from getting uppity, as their numbers swell.

Maybe we will see a time when land prices are devalued.
Around here the cost of a block is over the 100,000 mark, then you put a 120,000 abode upon it. The monthly payments are around 1,200 / month.
So young people have not got a chance.
I suggest land be devalued by 50 %.
Or we have towns exclusively for new starters, where the land prices are regulated.
Or should the land prices be regulated now, across the board.