In case anyone who has participated in this forum lives in Melbourne:

http://prosper.org.au/node/85

Housing Affordability Crisis
Wednesday November 8th, 6.30pm
Nothcote Town Hall, 189 High Street, Northcote

Political candidates for the Northern Metropolitan region have been invited to present their policies to the electorate. With the balance of power in the Legislative Council a noted point of interest in the 2006 Victorian State Election, voters in this locality could be pivotal to the election result.

We look forward to hearing first hand how the different candidates will address the Housing Affordability Crisis.

We ask - "Has the Great Australian Dream become a Fantasy?"

Earlier that day the Reserve Bank will announce its next interest rates decision.

An independent chairman will precede over a ballot to decide the speaking order. Each speaker will present for 15 minutes. Following this will be question time for the general public.

RSVP appreciated

If anyone still seriously maintains that immigration is not a factor which fuel housing inflation and is not, as a consequence, encouraged and welcomed by land speculators and property developers, they should check the sories in pratically every day's newspapers about gorowing housing unaffordability. Also check out these articles:

"Property prices tipped to soar" at http://www.realestate.com.au/review/apr072/prices_soar.html?from=review

"Michael Yardney - who runs buyers' advocacy service Metropole Property Investment Strategists -

"... said Australia was on the cusp of one last momentous real estate boom caused by strong immigration, a lack of land and an increasing proportion of single-person households. As the price climb continued, home ownership levels would also continue to fall, he said."

"Boom, migrant demand lift roof off home sales" at http://www.theage.com.au/news/business/boom-migrant-demand-lift-roof-off-home-sales/2007/06/09/1181089394431.html

"Scott Keck, managing director of property consultants Charter Keck Cramer, said part of the market's resurgence stemmed from immigration, with about 1000 people settling in Melbourne every week.

"'In the past two years, 80 per cent of migrant families coming to Melbourne have purchased their own home within 18 months of arriving,' he said."

Some of the comments made here are absolute BS. I am 25 too, I rent and it`s the worst it has been for decades.You are foolish to think " It`s never been easier to buy...." Nearly every house in perth is over 350000 dollars. And if you want a house in a good suburb your in the 600- 1.5 million dollar mark. When my dad bought built his first few houses in really nice southern suburbs of perth it cost him 250-250k on the block built. We young people don`t have half a million so we have to rent, and then when you rent a place out you get kicked out so the owner can sell his house and make a fortune. It`s so unfair, as a young guy that`s engaged i want some stability and if i have to move out every 6 months. Nothings getting done about it and quite frankly if they continue to do nothing whilst cutting off welfare benifets, you just watch all us young people, homeless out on the street and living in cars, while all the baby boomers sit back in there million dollar houses in the best suburbs knowing they paid 80 grand to buy it 10 years back, and then they rent out there 2nd "investment house" out for 500 a week and dont have to work. Thats why there is a skills shortage, never has there been a time in australian history when people have been so rich and been able to retire so early. IM going to have to work my ass off to get somewhere in this greedy world. Down with all the lazy baby boomers who have wrecked it for us!

Thanks OZZYRENTER,

I share your disgust and outrage at the self-serving lie, put by many who appear themselves to be property speculators, that housing is still affordable.

I am technically a baby-boomer, but didn't make the right career moves, had a relationship breakdown and was forced to sell my house, so I am largely in the same boat as you.

Howard now claims to favour housing affordabiity but before the 2004 elections he was actaully wearing the housing unaffordability as a badge of pride. Of course he didn't refer to it as 'housing unaffordability', rather it was the increase in the value of the assets of existing homeowners that his supposedly brilliant economic management had brought about.

When a questioned about housing unaffordably he deflected it claiming that everyone he met were grateful that the value of their asset had gone up.

Presumably he never met renters, and if he had, he was saying that they didn't matter to him because at that time they only comprised a minority of the population.

The fact that should have been obvious to even Howard back then was that increases in real estate values are of no net benefit to society. At best one person's gain is someone else's loss and indebtedness. In fact, inflated housing costs are a huge cost to the whole of society and those whose asset on paper, is worth, say AU$500,000, instead of AU$150,000 which is roughly what it should be, are not anywhere near as much better off as they would like to believe they are.

Whatever you do don't forget to vote against Howard. Not promising much joy from Rudd, but things can only get much worse if Howard is not thrown out.