14 August 2008

ANU considers stacking up their students

| johnboy
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The Canberra Times reports that ANU is putting serious thought into housing students in stacked up shipping containers.

Students are generally happy if they have somewhere warm to sleep, plenty of booze, and a vague hope of having sex in their futures.

But is this sort of accommodation in keeping with the image ANU is trying to project?

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captainwhorebags1:27 pm 15 Aug 08

AH,

sorry if you read any antagonism in my post, there was none intended. It’s a real problem and although you personally may not care about the investments of others, home owners make up a very sizeable proportion of the electorate and their elected representatives have to look after them, as well.

Interestingly enough, most prospective home owners want declining house prices right up until they buy one themselves.

For my position, I’d like to see investment housing treated as just another asset class, then the market can find the correct equilibrium without any generous tax concessions.

captainwhorebags said :

AngryHenry: if you’ve got a solution to the rental crisis, then I’m sure a lot of people want to hear from you.

It’s not an over-inflated sense of self that is the problem, it’s pure supply and demand at work.

Significantly increasing the supply of rental properties will ease the price of rentals, but the downside will be that falling returns will move investors out of the market. Although this seems like a good way to make buying a house possible for a lot of people, it also will mean a lot of mum & dad investors lose their nest egg.

I never said I had a solution to the crisis, I’m just as caught up in it as the next person, my rent has just gone over the $400 mark.

You seem to have provided the solution anyways, significantly increase the supply of rental properties thus reducing the price of rent, falling returns lead to investors pulling out and SHA-ZAM! I can buy a house!

Sorry pal but I don’t really care about someone elses ‘next egg’ when I can’t afford my own.

In a city where we have some of the highest rental and property prices in the country, in my opinion, Canberra does have an over-inflated sense of itself. If it didn’t maybe we wouldn’t consider putting ANU students in shipping containers to house them and they could rent an affordable property in the inner north like in the good ‘ol days!

captainwhorebags8:19 am 15 Aug 08

AngryHenry: if you’ve got a solution to the rental crisis, then I’m sure a lot of people want to hear from you.

It’s not an over-inflated sense of self that is the problem, it’s pure supply and demand at work.

Significantly increasing the supply of rental properties will ease the price of rentals, but the downside will be that falling returns will move investors out of the market. Although this seems like a good way to make buying a house possible for a lot of people, it also will mean a lot of mum & dad investors lose their nest egg.

there is an ex govvie in charnwood, for $380 a week. charnwood… $380 a week…

nope, just can’t see it.

There is a garden flat in Ainslie on the market for – i kid you not – $220 a week – no separate kitchen, just a bedroom and lounge, with a quasi kitchen set up in a corner of the lounge.

Considering none of them could afford to rent a place that’s anywhere near the ANU, it’s a great idea as long as it’s economically viable to students.

Although a better idea would be making rental prices in Canberra a bit lower. I’ve heard of some places in O’Connor near the ANU going for up to $500 bucks a week. I remember living in a group house in Dickson about ten years ago for $160 a week.

I don’t know how students do it these days, it seems totally unsustainable.

Canberra has an over-inflated sense of itself when it comes to real-estate.

peterh said :

or converting the car parks that are sitting vacant for permit parking (the high rise park) into the only park. bit of a walk, but then, the parking sites that are vacated could have accommodation on them.

The “vacant” parking station out the back of Johns (Dickson street parking station) isn’t actually vacant (except the roof) and has a 6 month waiting list.

I’m an ANU student and i know quite a bit about student accommodation at ANU (or lack thereof).

These new shipping containers are fantastic and the general vibe is positive towards them. They’re insulated, come with 14 power points (when compared with the 2 power points in my current room), kitchen, bathroom, dining area and the possibility of a queen size bed.

http://www.keetwonen.nl/html_en/index.html
http://www.tempohousing.com

From what i understand they’re going to build on the vacant piece of land behind Ursula Hall/Johns College, but initially they were going to build near Bruce (in one of the adjacent carparks). They’re expecting them to cost between $170-200 a week.

A positive step i say! But yes – we really need a student village – too many people, and not enough spots – it’s impossible to be a student and get a share house in Canberra at the moment.

Jonathon Reynolds11:26 am 14 Aug 08

Issue one cardboard box to all new students.

Luxury! … I used to dream about living in a cardboard box
http://www.phespirit.info/montypython/four_yorkshiremen.htm

winning star10:54 am 14 Aug 08

Geez bloody quiet day at the Canberra Times then…. I remember seeing this on Win weeks ago. Good on them.

I remember the containers in Europe looked really cool. But it’s all just in the planning stage.

Plus, they won’t kick people already in college out to make way for the first years, so it creates a lot of pressure. They have been putting the overflow into the Rex hotel this year (and other years too), which is a far from ideal solution when they have to cross the road to Fenner Hall to get to their cooking facilities etc.

Yeah I’m pretty sure it’s all first year out of towners.

There was a student forum for it back in June I think, trying to get student input – particularly from the postgrad students.

Problem ANU has is they guaratee that if you want it, you can get a spot on campus in your first year of undergrad, meaning that the uni lodge, which was intended to be moer post grad or later year style housing, got all taken up by the first years.

(I think it’s all first years who get the guarantee, or at least ot of towners)

So the demand they expect for next year is way more than the extra uni lodge next door can handle. So they’re looking at containers.

If the accommodation is affordable and owned by ANU (rather than a property developer), then I think that is very good for ANU’s image. Plus, recycled shipping containers are, for want of a better term, funky, and that is in contrast to the image of ANU’s old colleges and new Unilodge.

Go for it Chubb.

I’m not sure if you have ever actually seen converted shipping containers, but they are very cool. (not literally) I’m sure they would like to project an image that that shows them to be a bit trendier than they actually are.

or converting the car parks that are sitting vacant for permit parking (the high rise park) into the only park. bit of a walk, but then, the parking sites that are vacated could have accommodation on them.

I think ANU needs to project an image of having enough accommodation to meet demand because they don’t even come close.

Perhaps then they can start thinking about ‘student villages’ and whatnot.

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