Oh to be Jess Irvine. There’s never anything wrong. And then when there is it is in retrospect and it’s fixed!
So, are we heading for a big property bust up? It’s unlikely. The entire system – from the structure of our tax system to the role of our regulators – is designed to support and even encourage our addiction.
As soon as prices start to turn, authorities delay interest rate hikes and or loosen lending regulations. The banking regulator last week basically declared “mission accomplished” on its measures to cool excessive demand for investment and interest-only loans. Byres basically conceded the regulator had been asleep at the wheel initially, as competitive pressures among lenders manifested themselves not in lower prices or better products for consumers, but laxer lending standards.
