I forgot to mention;
If our banks get into trouble, the Financial Stability Board will
seize enough depositors money to cover the banks debts.
So spread your risk.

Yes good article Valerie.

And well said popnperish.

So one has to wonder why there isn’t a huge outcry from the general community about our very high immigration rate, given the enormous effect that it has on keeping house prices very high, and constantly increasing.

Housing affordability and the size of one’s mortgage… and the enormous amount of extra money that one has to pay on top of the original loan for the privilege of getting a mortgage, and the extent of financial stress that this can place on people, for decades, surely amounts to a huge reason for the ordinary folk to be totally outraged over our absurdly high rate of immigration.

The likes of Sustainable Population Australia and the Stable Population Party should have gained a huge amount of support.

Something just doesn’t add up here.

Ludwig said;
Something just doesn’t add up here.

I also see a refusal to accept easily verifiable facts in most fields
if those facts are likely to disturb the business as usual lifestyle
of any of us.

You see it in your population belief.
I see it in my energy worry. (obsession some might call it)

It is rampant in the public attitude of politicians.
I suspect in many of these matters, they realise the truth but as has
been publicised a "Don't scare the horses" fear governs them.

After all think about the uproar because Tony Abbott looked at his watch.
Imagine it if he said we will reduce immigration to zero for the next 5 years.
Imagine the uproar if he said we are going to plan for petrol rationing.

No the person to blame is you, me and the bloke next door.

I agree that housing affordability is a problem, but most of Valerie’s suggestions will make that problem worse, not better.

The silliest is the proposal that housing be sold for no more than 105% of the purchase price – a sure-fire way to kill almost all new housing supply.

A government-subsidised real estate agency would do nothing to change the market fundamentals, and just waste taxpayer money.

Measures to reduce investor activity in the market will not add to housing supply, and could make it worse. Investors don’t withdraw housing from the market, they merely shift it to another segment (rental) which is no less socially useful.

Compulsory eco-standards have some merit, but need to be balanced against the strong evidence that a key reason for Australia’s poor housing affordability is over-regulation.

Owner-occupiers don’t lose their homes through “swings in prices of real estate”, though they could lose them if they are over-extended on their mortgage repayments, or if their incomes drop. Again, though, government intervention here could have catastrophic unintended consequences. Bank lending for housing would virtually dry up if lenders could not foreclose on debtors who default on loan repayments

The housing price issue could be hiding a more troubling issue, there is little to invest money in that can give a high return.

This seemed to be the case in the US, where people invested in real estate because there was little else that could give a higher return.

It lead to a bubble, and then a collapse, and due to globalisation, it affected most of the world.

So what are the banks in Australia investing most of their money in.

Real estate, with 83% of mortgages being loaned out by the 4 top banks.

It is a giant ponzi scheme, and immigrants are brought in to buy houses and keep the ponzi scheme operating.

But now, the public is being sucked dry, and immigrants are not enough (because they can't earn enough), so foreign investors are being welcomed in to keep the ponzi scheme functioning as long as possible.

What a garbled article apart from the bit about real estate being over priced. Much of that overpricing can be laid at the door of government & council rip off charges, & the rest at unions door. Rhian is right with most of his post, as is Incomuicardo.

All miss the other point. Without the housing /building industry, unemployment would go through the roof. [no pun intended].

Governments have a huge & growing problem. Our union generated crazy wage rates have exported most real jobs out of the country. At least currently we can't import ready built houses. That will probably come, when you consider a US house is built for 45% of the price of the same house in Oz.

Once some smart folk develop an import business bringing complete houses in, we will have virtually no employment left, other than service industries.

We had better hope government, or the reserve bank, fix the exchange to push up imports prices, before the only employment is government, & we go broke with welfare. Once that happens we will be the next Greece, with no control of our own destiny.