"If people cannot afford to buy houses, the price will fall. Agreed?"

Certainly not. Bangladesh has $1 a day wages and some of the highest land values in the world. The truth is that people will seek cheaper options such as multiple occupancy and homelessness.

The immigration driven affordability crisis (a policy enacted predominantly by white Anglo-Saxon males) has serious economic and social consequences. As an example, in a stable population situation, a couple saving $40 k per year would take just over 6 years to own a home, paying a combined $55 k in rent while saving for a deposit and interest payments. Currently, the odyssey would take 37 years and cost them $1 million more. So the status quo is a strong driver of inequality. The model could be further refined by noting that immigration increases the trade deficit, and so affects interest rates. But the result is a stark one, and minor refinement seems a trivial pursuit.

Just curious Fester.

>>Bangladesh has $1 a day wages and some of the highest land values in the world<<

Someone - it may have even been you - has mentioned this statistic before. What is your source for the "highest land values in the world" part?

One of the problems is that we in general will buy/rent the largest, prettiest house in the best area that we can afford. And we are willing to hurt ourselves in many other ways just to do that. I am buying a house (paying off a mortgage) on one income, whilst still paying for childcare. And whilst it still hurts and restricts an awful lot of social activities, I can afford to do so because the mortgage payments represent just 17% of my income (gross, or about 23% net). I would love a big house with a large yard, like anyone else, but I make do with a 2 bedroom cottage, because that's what I can afford without having to live on mince and potatoes. One day I hope to trade up, but for now I'll keep getting by.

We need to wind our expectations down a notch, instead of splurging on the best of everything.

They certainly dont have such grand allusions in Bangladesh. Yes Pericles, I saw it in a docco some years ago. But you might prefer this 1998 article:

http://housingfinance.wharton.upenn.edu/Documents/bareport.pdf

Allusions vary according to circumstances. Maybe the allusion bar could be substantially raised if there were a stable population?

Wear a hair shirt if you like, and beg to have the price of water, electricity, and petrol tripled. They are obscenely cheap. And why is my computer so cheap? They cost heaps in the early 1970's when people were far less affluent, so why dont they cost heaps more today? It's wrong.

Oh, the luxury. The luxury!

Fester, you need to update your statistics. Or watch more credible documentaries.

>>Bangladesh has... some of the highest land values in the world<<

According to the document you pointed me to, and my calculator, you can buy an acre of land within 30km of the CBD for US$15,000. This is a great distance from "some of the highest land values in the world".

When you are trying to make a point, it helps to check the information you present, rather than rely on "I saw it in a docco some years ago"

Now, what was your point again?

"Now, what was your point again?"

You might have also noted from the same document that the most expensive residential land in Bangladesh in 1998 sold in a range from 500 AUD to 1500 AUD per square metre.

You might also note this comment on wages and conditions:

http://www.amrc.org.hk/4906.htm

"The legal minimum wage is Tk930 (US$20.00) a month, but the wage actually paid is around Tk700 a month. Average wages (unskilled and semi-skilled) are about Tk2,000 a month.

Labour laws and union rights are ignored by employers. Most workers generally put in 14-16 hours a day, seven days a week; overtime is compulsory and underpaid; there is no job security, no provident fund, no bonus, and employers provide no housing or transport; safety and health conditions at work are poor - factory deaths are common."

My point, Pericles? And you think Australia needs more people?

How very amusing.