After years of witnessing bogus excuses for why Australian housing affordability is not that bad – with arguments usually centered on the secular fall in mortgage interest rates over the past 25-plus years – finally we have a complete analysis of the issue from Fairfax’s Caitlin Fitzsimmons. Below are her key arguments with input from me:
It’s often pointed out that the ratio of debt to income is higher than ever. In March 1990 owner occupier housing debt was 28 per cent of household disposable income, according to Reserve Bank figures. It has gone up steadily ever since and, as of September 2016, was 98.4 per cent. These are national figures and would be much higher in Sydney and Melbourne…
