Houses going to a motza, but no appetite to build more?

Would Canberra’s builders take a break until Zed can get elected in October and repeal the change of use charges?
Yes.

EvanJames said :

Tony said :

My advice to buyer
According to the online tools provided by banks, a couple both earning a below median 50,000/yr can borrow approx $564,552, which is above the median house price.

I think people should suck it up and jump into the market instead of whinge about it.

What can people who aren’t a couple borrow? Enough to buy a house in the Canberra region?

No.

There’s generally an amount the banks will lend, even if your income is quite low. If what they lend is enough for the property you want, you’ll need to either save more or increase your income (or both).

milkman said :

gentoopenguin said :

Buying a sticks and brick house for half a million is for fools and speculators (the two may be intimately intertwined).

That’s right. Some of us buy something decent.

One good troll deserves another, eh?

Tony said :

My advice to buyer
According to the online tools provided by banks, a couple both earning a below median 50,000/yr can borrow approx $564,552, which is above the median house price.

I think people should suck it up and jump into the market instead of whinge about it.

What can people who aren’t a couple borrow? Enough to buy a house in the Canberra region?

No.

My advice to buyer
According to the online tools provided by banks, a couple both earning a below median 50,000/yr can borrow approx $564,552, which is above the median house price.

I think people should suck it up and jump into the market instead of whinge about it. Save hard for a couple of years to provide a good credit history and for the deposit.

When I borrowed 220k earning 40k/y, people were telling me it the tip of the market and it the worst time to buy etc… I was also worried that I may be overextending myself. But I made it work, and 5 years later I sold it for 370k. I then upgraded with a similar income/loan ratio, but this time with a wife (not working) and baby. I had the same feedback about the housing market being at its tip, and the same fears about over-extending myself. But guess what, I’m making it work and its great.

Seriously, anyone with half a concious will always be worried and nervous when committing to such an expensive and long term commitment, but you should let it scare you off. Think about logically, and it you think you can do it, you probably can.

The above is my opinion

gentoopenguin said :

Buying a sticks and brick house for half a million is for fools and speculators (the two may be intimately intertwined).

That’s right. Some of us buy something decent.

Buying a sticks and brick house for half a million is for fools and speculators (the two may be intimately intertwined).

Houses cost a lot to build, especially at current land prices, so there is lots of incentive to go and buy (and maybe renovate) an existing house, which is usually in a better location anyway.

Come on Zed – don’t be shy – tell us how much houses will be under your gubmint.

Hmmmm.

ABS says:
PRIVATE SECTOR DWELLINGS EXCLUDING HOUSES
– The trend estimate for private sector dwellings excluding houses fell 3.8% in February and has now fallen for 14 months.
– The seasonally adjusted estimate for private sector dwellings excluding houses fell 15.8% following a rise of 1.9% last month.

PRIVATE SECTOR HOUSES
– The trend estimate for private sector houses approved fell 0.3% in February and has fallen for 26 months.
– The seasonally adjusted estimate for private sector houses fell 3.4% in February 2012 and has now fallen for 3 successive months.
From: 8731.0 – Building Approvals, Australia, February 2012

Zed quotes the trend terms without specifying whether he is referring to units or houses – but let’s assume it’s units, given the context. That means that Canberra, with a dwelling approval that’s only fallen for eight consecutive months, is doing better than Australia as a whole (where the fall has been going on for 14 consecutive months).

Not sure that this supports your argument, Zed, that a land betterment tax has anything to do with it.

Any he should take heart from the absolute figures, if not the trend. ABS figures show that 2,271 units were approved to be built between January- December 2011 in the ACT, and 71% of them were in buildings of 4 stories or more. So yay – the building industry lives!