House prices are INSANE here.
Its mainly supply and demand. We are importing people at ten times the new house build rate. Our Government has relaxed foreign ownership regulations. Now the Chinese are buying everything in sight for their kids to live in when studying here.
Every minute of every day, the newspaper, TV, radio are full of stories of how you better buy now. It creates a frenzy. People are borrowing 400,000 to buy a house that cost 200,000 a year ago. The media quotes median prices, people think this is the average price. People dont realise that borrowing 400k costs a million over a 25 year loan.
The rise in sales has led to a shortage of rental properties, that drives the price up even further. People are going to get hit hard in 10 years when we go through what you have.
In Perth and Queensland, huge mining industry salaries, up to 200k a year for tradesmen, has got out of control. These areas were the lowest for house prices before the mining boom. Now they are the most expensive. People who have lived in a town all their lives are now forced out to caravan parks as the miners move in. Also these miners etc have so much money they buy a few houses and create an even bigger shortage.
Its all gone crazy the last 5 years. Take me a year to explain it properly.
Boom and bust, its going to get ugly when the bust comes.
A generation ago, people bought a modest house, had ONE car if a car at all, used second hand furniture etc. Now people want what they see on TV and wont pay back what they owe in their lifetime. Its all artificially inflated.
The Government introduced a first home buyers grant that got up to about 20 grand. This just put 20 grand on the price of a new home.
As I have said before, we have become a nation of idiots.