Australians taking on debt most certainly did aid land prices escalating into a gigantic bubble. However, it was the tax system that slaughtered income earners and patted property speculators on the back. Although Ken Henry suggested the abolition of most of our taxes and an all-in land tax could reverse this arrant nonsense, it went down like a lead balloon, thereby ensuring we continue crippling employment and live to repeat this sorry episode.

The main reason why I bought a house and saddled myself with a mortgage was to get independence and eventual security. I now have both without a landlord to whom I am indebted. I really don't worry about the value of my house, because I don't intend to sell and it gives me a roof over my head. If I do have to downsize and move into something smaller the relationship with what I get for my place and what I would want to buy will probably stay roughly the same. That would not be the case if I had rented all my life.

In my opinion there is only one thing that really matters when it comes to housing. Affordability!

So long as you can afford to hold the house or unit, time is a wonderful tool and unless you have bought in a bad area, then what you paid twenty years ago, would appear like a steal today.

First home owners grant.

This is a very bad policy, introduced by the Howard government then beefed up by Rudd.

What this should have been was an interest free loan, yours to keep the, unless you rented the house , refinanced, or borrow against the equity.

Do either of these and you have to repay the loan in full. Live there until you die and pay no interest ever!

Of cause, once your estate is settled, the loan gets repaid.

Stats show from memory that the average mortgage lasts for 7 years, so, this would mean that the grant goes back in to the kitty, to benefit another first home buyer.

Yes rehctub, I can vouch for that.

I am just 6 weeks off 20 years in my current home. I bought approaching the top of a previous cycle, & there was not much increase in price for some years. Then there was another cycle, with rapid price increase. Of course I sold my last place at the same part of the cycle.

A couple of years ago it was valued at something over 5 times the purchase price. Since then there has been a definite contraction, so now it is valued at a little over 4 times that purchase price.

Still pretty good investment value, even if it hadn't provided accommodation for that period.

As snake says, the actual price is not of much importance. My 4 previous properties in Brisbane, Wide Bay, the Whitsundays, & on the Burrum river are all valued with in about a 5% variance, so moving from one district to another would still be viable.

House prices mean little to me as I own my home, however it is obvious that their is a chronic shortage of rental houses with our massive immigration. Rental prices show very little chance of decreasing which makes me very suspicious about a large drop in property values. Should it happen their will be a huge number of investors waiting for the bargains.

I suppose a Brisbane writer has as much chance as the economist to predict future trends. I am still amazed how much money economist got paid and still failed to predict the GFC. Only God knows.