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| International Housing Affordability Survey | |
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| Topic Started: Aug 11 2007, 11:50:48 PM (625 Views) | |
| TerritorianTori | Aug 11 2007, 11:50:48 PM Post #1 |
It couldn't happen here
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Sorry if it seems like I'm beating a dead horse here, but I saw this report in a post on MUO and thought some people here would be interested to read it: 3rd Annual Demographia International Housing Affordability Survey, 2007 Was kind of amazed to see Hobart come in at #20 on the "unaffordable" list. |
 South Texas to the Northern Territory - since 2004 I'm a huge fan of... Angry Video Game Nerd | The Big Bang Theory | Doctor Who | Pet Shop Boys | Yanks Down Under ~ Americans living in Australia Avatar by Sketch Shop Boys I don't do Facebook, sorry. | |
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| Muhlyssa | Aug 12 2007, 12:32:53 AM Post #2 |
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True Blue Mate
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Well as someone who lives in the #1 most unaffordable market worldwide (los angeles), maybe we should really reconsider our move to Sydney (#7)! Notice that none of the affordable markets worldwide are in Oz? |
| [size=14]Melissa[/size] | |
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| Jaffas | Aug 12 2007, 02:34:47 AM Post #3 |
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True Blue Mate
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I noticed that too. This is a sore topic at the moment for us, though. |
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Manda from Victoria, Australia Marty from Michigan, United States Together we're in Stawell, Victoria  See what we're up to: Our Old Miners Cottage - A blog for our house | |
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| alect | Aug 12 2007, 02:52:19 AM Post #4 |
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True Blue Mate
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Yeah - makes me feel better that we're moving from #1 to #23 :D |
| Los Angeles to Melbourne with my Yank wife (and dual daughter plus twins in the oven) | |
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| Bindie | Aug 12 2007, 12:15:05 PM Post #5 |
True Blue Mate
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"Australia: The least affordable housing, overall, is in Australia, where seven of eight markets have Median Multiples of 6.0 or above and all markets are rated “severely unaffordable or “seriously unaffordable.”7 The national Median Multiple is 6.6, more than double the “affordable” standard of 3.0" I do wonder if this topic will come up during the next election. Hopefully, if it does, it will result in some real answers. . . not just empty promises. |
 The future is no place/to place your better days, DMB Canberra, ACT since 2004 | |
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| Dev | Aug 12 2007, 12:30:38 PM Post #6 |
"No day but today."
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I'm not really sure why Melbourne is the 23rd least affordable place to buy. It seems like it should at least be above Hobart in those stakes. |
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Devon ----------------------- "What a shame that bitter irony has no nutritional value." 
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| Squashy | Aug 12 2007, 03:53:53 PM Post #7 |
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True Blue Mate
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I was a little surprised about Hobart at first but the chart on page 36 clarifies why: The average house in Hobart is $290k but the average income is $41k - the average house in Melbourne is $377k but the average income is 57k. It been said many times over but it's true ... there are so many different factors in determining affordability and the price of living. Anyway, I thought the comparison about Austin and Perth was pretty interesting - looks like the differences all come down to land use policy :banghead: I also found the bit about infrastructure fees :
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| Jennifer | |
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| surfermomkelly | Aug 12 2007, 04:38:07 PM Post #8 |
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True Blue Mate
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Yep well I live in #2 LOL The thing is here an ocean front home is 5-10Mil and in Palm Beach where we are moving its only a little over $1mil and that is suppose to be an expensive area? So I don't ger how people think RE is more in Australia? (don't smack me) |
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| Bindie | Aug 12 2007, 11:37:56 PM Post #9 |
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True Blue Mate
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Just as Squashy said, you have to look at what people are making. As it is, less and less people can afford homes in Australia because they are simply too expensive. And people do not make as much money here generally - there are exceptions. The cost of living is higher, too. . . especially for those who lived in the midwest (US). Quality of life may make this fact less noticable, but we all know it and have talked about it to death. You also have more taxes you have to pay when buying a home. Stamp duty is very expensive in Canberra, but the stamp duty concession stops at $330,000. As Jules can attest to, you can't find a house in Canberra for under $400,000. So unless you're willing to live in a flat or a shack, you're paying full stamp duty (3% of the purchase price), plus a deposit, and other fees. Queensland must be more affordable as well . .I've always heard that Brisbane was the most affordable capital city. |
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The future is no place/to place your better days, DMB Canberra, ACT since 2004 | |
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| surfermomkelly | Aug 13 2007, 02:17:03 AM Post #10 |
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True Blue Mate
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I totally forgot about the job market. I know we are lucky with our situation both here and in Oz. So totally dumb question, what do people do to afford a place to live or anything? |
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| Jaffas | Aug 13 2007, 08:24:50 AM Post #11 |
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True Blue Mate
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As far as I can tell, they buy a large "cheap" house out over an hours drive (each way) from their work, where land has just been developed and services are non-existent. (They buy a large house, because they expect to spend their whole lives in it to raise a family, and pay the silly thing off!) They're usually those "display" type homes, and because of a lack of government backbone, they don't even a 5 or 6 star energy rating, so the owners pay a lot more for utilities and heating and cooling. They both work, and put-off having families, just to pay the morgage. The homes close to the cities are reserved for those that can afford them, or those who's parents can afford them. As a young person with no chance of family inheritance (haha..) and nothing other than the most basic savings behind me, I know that I have the option above, or I keep renting, as so many people are forced to do nowdays. Maybe in the future, we'll have enough saved, and a large enough income each that we can get a loan for a small apartment in the city, instead of the Aussie Dream (and American Dream for that matter) of our own home with a little land where we can have a veggie garden and some chooks and perhaps a dog. Aaah.. yeah.  I'm not looking on the downside - when there's an upside to look at, I'll be looking at that instead! 
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Manda from Victoria, Australia Marty from Michigan, United States Together we're in Stawell, Victoria See what we're up to: Our Old Miners Cottage - A blog for our house | |
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| incognito | Aug 13 2007, 09:28:36 AM Post #12 |
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Chatterbox
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Also Kelly - you cannot write off mortgage interest on your tax here, interest rates are higher, and it seems that the vast majority of people are on ARMs so they have been struggling over the past several years with multiple interest rate increases. As Bindie has pointed out correctly, the fees attached to buying a home are MUCH higher here too. I think if we bought our last house in Sacramento here we'd pay at least $15K more in closing costs. In Australia it all adds up. Then on top of that other things cost a lot of money (food etc) and you have a MUCH higher income tax, so you have less money to spend. It's kind of like you get nickled and dimed, and your money doesn't go as far anyhow... Plus the quality of housing in many places here is far less than what we are accustomed to in terms of thermal efficiency so you are getting lower quality in many instances... To put it simply, it can be very difficult for many people. To add insult to injury there is a national RENTAL squeeze!! If the rental market was decent we wouldn't be quite as fussed, but when you are getting screwed on rent as well - and there are really only a handful of major cities where you can make decent wages - it gets a bit stressful for lots of folks. :(( |
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| Angie | Aug 13 2007, 10:41:17 AM Post #13 |
True Blue Mate
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:(( I can soooo relate to all that!! We don't have it as bad as it could be but yeah we live in one of these display cardboard falling apart brand new homes an hour or more from the city. Services are NON existent. We don't even have a fruit & veg stand. I can count the serious (non reject shop types) shops on 1 hand pretty much. For this reason we are moving soon but the way rent has gone up in the last year in Melbourne it is going to be a struggle to get the things we want in a home like ducted heating and a small-ish backyard. Thankfully Ray and I are not having children so we don't suffer as some do in that regards. I really feel for parents. As far as owning a house... well we have come to the conclusion it won't be here in Melbourne so we are now looking at Mildura. (Which I love actually) And fotunately since I work from home I can work from anywhere. But if Ray can't get a job in Mildura, that will make that just a dream as well. :banghead: |
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| TerritorianTori | Aug 13 2007, 11:06:02 AM Post #14 |
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It couldn't happen here
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They sell their souls for a mortgage, have Mummy and Daddy co-sign, and work their :moon:'s off praying that they don't lose their jobs or get sick. OK, maybe I'm exaggerating a little, but like some others in this thread, home ownership is a fantasy for us because we're in the "young family who has been priced out of the market several times over" category. :(( So we rent, and every time the lease comes up for renewal, we hold our breath to see how much the rent is gonna increase this time around... more people can't afford homes = more people in the rental market = higher demand. If there is an upside, at least the market is beginning to flatten out in certain areas. And I've heard about a program in WA where the government puts up 40% and you get a loan for the other 60%...that helps...hopefully they'll put it in place in other areas too. |
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South Texas to the Northern Territory - since 2004 I'm a huge fan of... Angry Video Game Nerd | The Big Bang Theory | Doctor Who | Pet Shop Boys | Yanks Down Under ~ Americans living in Australia Avatar by Sketch Shop Boys I don't do Facebook, sorry. | |
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| shylady | Aug 13 2007, 11:40:25 AM Post #15 |
oldYank
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Nevertheless, in today's news, http://news.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=152294 Housing Stress to Intensify in WA it states:
An "average first homebuyer's income" is $97,600? :eek: :eek: I can't imagine a $3010/month mortgage payment! That's horrifying! It would take 2 really good incomes, and forget paying for childcare! YUCK!  |
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"I could’ve turned a different corner, I could’ve gone another place... " ku,'09 | |
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| surfermomkelly | Aug 13 2007, 11:44:11 AM Post #16 |
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True Blue Mate
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WOW thanks you guys for your honest thoughts on this. I didn't realize all of this. We actually found a house we want to buy and are tyring to work out the international part of it. Apparently since we will be getting our residnecy we cannot buy "secondhand property" until we are residents. That is so dumb. |
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| Jaffas | Aug 13 2007, 01:43:03 PM Post #17 |
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True Blue Mate
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Wow.. I was seriously hoping for everyone to come-up with some opposing (good) news for me, but it makes me feel very ill. An income of that scale is, quite frankly, out of the question. This year was the first time I ever got a job above $30k, and I was stoked! hahaha.. Just wow. 
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Manda from Victoria, Australia Marty from Michigan, United States Together we're in Stawell, Victoria See what we're up to: Our Old Miners Cottage - A blog for our house | |
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| surfermomkelly | Aug 13 2007, 03:59:36 PM Post #18 |
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True Blue Mate
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I just cannot understand that the wage is so low and then the housing prices are so high? How does that work out? |
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| minx | Aug 13 2007, 04:15:21 PM Post #19 |
True Blue Mate
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HOLY CR*P!! I can't imagine a mortgage payment of over $3000. I am continually astonished at the housing market here, and I feel so bad for people trying to get into their first home. :(( The prices are here to stay, I think...The demand is there, and that won't go away. We were talking to a real estate agent not too long ago, his opinion was the market has slowed down, but I don't think we'll see much of a price drop. |
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| minx | Aug 13 2007, 04:21:45 PM Post #20 |
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True Blue Mate
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Simply put, I think it's a problem of supply and demand, at least here in the west. A home is only worth what someone is willing to pay for it, and while I think that the prices are crazy, people who know more about the subject than I do assure me that the market will not see a plunge. |
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7:03 PM May 19