Australian Property

By Leith van Onselen To say Treasurer Joe Hockey’s stance on housing is disappointing is an understatement.

Yesterday MB won.

Now that we know unequivocally that we are in the grip of a national property bubble let us explore the likely scenario that pops it.

By Leith van Onselen Last week, it was Westpac demanding the government reform the tax system to remove the bias away from property speculation: The current CGT discount was introduced in 1999 and allows individuals to discount a realised capital gain by 50 per cent provided they have held the asset for 12 months.

From News: RESPONDING to questions about housing affordability in Sydney and Melbourne, the prime minister empathised with people trying to buy their first home.

By Leith van Onselen Concerns over foreign investors pricing locals out of home ownership appears to be boiling over, with a group of Liberal MPs raising the alarm.

From The West Australian: Property and business leaders are urging West Australians not to get caught up in “doom and gloom” about the State economy, saying WA’s future is bright with opportunities growing.

Fresh from the ABC: Mr Hockey was on the defensive today.

By Leith van Onselen More Liberal Party bubble supporters are on the hustings today: Federal Liberal MP Craig Laundy has backed Treasurer Joe Hockey, saying he believes Sydney’s housing market is pricey but affordable.

At various times and in various venues I have watched on as different social interest groups have laid claim to the contemporary high moral ground of Australian victimhood.

By Leith van Onselen Yesterday’s housing finance data for April registered a much needed rebound in buyer demand for newly constructed dwellings following a period of weakness, with the number of commitments for construction and new dwellings rising a combined 3.5% in April and by 1.4% over the year (see next chart).

By Leith van Onselen SQM Research has released its stock on market figures for the month of May, which registered a 3.3% monthly increase in the number of homes for sale, but with for sale listings down by 1.9% over the year (see below table).

By Leith van Onselen Treasurer Joe Hockey really is a clown, today refuting the claim that Sydney housing is unaffordable with the following gem: “If housing was unaffordable in Sydney nobody would be buying it”… “The starting point for first home buyers is to get a good job that pays good money”.

By Leith van Onselen Dad’s Army’s “Mad” Adam Carr has truly entered bizarro world today, penning a piece arguing that Australian housing “is actually very affordable”: Hysteria is a funny thing.

By Leith van Onselen The media is abuzz today with reports about how the Government is coming after foreigners that have illegally purchased existing Australian homes.

By Leith van Onselen The Australian Greens announced over the weekend their policy to quarantine negative gearing so that rental losses on both houses and shares could no longer be claimed against unrelated wage/salary earnings.

Australia’s last sane man standing – Saul Eslake – nailed the bubble over the weekend: “I would say they are causing social harm because they are widening the gap between those who have houses and those who don’t, and freezing younger generations out of home ownership,” he told Fairfax Media.

Click to view Core Logic-RP Data’s latest weekly housing market update, which provides a useful snapshot of the housing market as at 7 June 2015.

The national auction clearance rate rose again over the weekend, continuing the record run of results.

Cross-posted from The Conversation: One routine governance decision prone to corruption is the zoning of our cities.