Australia’s rental market analyzed in report… Australians encouraged to pay down debt… Sydney leading major cities in international investors...
Housing crisis outlined in new rental affordability report
According to Anglicare Australia’s “2015 Rental Affordability Snapshot,” released late last month, Australia is one the cusp of a mounting housing disaster confronting millions of workers, young people and pensioners, along with those forced to subsist on poverty-level government welfare and other benefits.
Based on a survey of over 65,000 properties listed on the private rental market over one weekend in April, the report highlighted the devastating impact of worsening unemployment and an unprecedented housing bubble that has pushed prices and rents to record levels, according to an article from wsws.org, and figures show that some 1.6 million people across the country struggled to pay their rent in 2014.
The article, which quoted the report, also noted that for a household with two parents and two children living on the government’s Newstart unemployment benefits, just 0.9 per cent of listed homes would be “affordable” and “appropriate.” A dwelling was deemed unaffordable if it would cost more than 30 percent of an income for those in the bottom 40 percent of the national income distribution.
In Sydney, house prices grew by 57 percent between January 2009 and January 2015, while Melbourne witnessed a 50 per cent growth over the same period.
Australians encouraged to pay down debt
Investors are snapping up properties at peak prices particularly in Sydney and Melbourne — and consumers spending up on plastic and signing up to personal loans are among those most likely to get caught up in a debt disaster, according to an article in news.com.au.
While experts are predicting rates to remain low for some time yet, Prushka Fast Debt Recover chief executive Roger Mendelson attacked Treasurer Joe Hockey’s comments made after last week’s rate cut calling for Australians “to borrow and invest.” He labelled it as bad advice.
“The biggest risk are highly-geared investors who are buying units because in order to get the benefits of a tax loss from negative gearing you need to borrow more because interest rates are low,’’ he said.
“One of the biggest problems is also people who have credit card debt and personal debt who aren’t homeowners.
“They’ve got more than one credit card and they are juggling them... they have hard core debt and these people don’t have financial resources to back them up.”
Recent research by Barclays found household debt in Australia including mortgages, credit cards, overdrafts and personal loans was among the worst in the world.
Sydney leading major cities in international investors
Sydney has emerged as one of the top four destinations for international property investors, ranking ahead of New York and Paris, a survey by global property group CBRE has found.
According to an article from the Sydney Morning Herald, Australia's biggest city is widely viewed from offshore as an attractive place to invest, the survey shows and the comes as Australia's big real estate investment trusts (REITs) all reported improved leasing and retail sales conditions for the quarter ended March 31, with some tapping the demand for urban renewal projects.
London retained its position as the world's most sought-after city for investors, followed by Tokyo and San Francisco. Sydney ranked fourth, ahead of New York.
"This ranking is no surprise, with Australia offering some of the highest returns on a global basis across all our core sectors, with returns on secondary assets being even more attractive. We are starting to see positive signs in the office sector in a range of Australian CBD markets, which will underpin growth expectations," he said.
According to Anglicare Australia’s “2015 Rental Affordability Snapshot,” released late last month, Australia is one the cusp of a mounting housing disaster confronting millions of workers, young people and pensioners, along with those forced to subsist on poverty-level government welfare and other benefits.
Based on a survey of over 65,000 properties listed on the private rental market over one weekend in April, the report highlighted the devastating impact of worsening unemployment and an unprecedented housing bubble that has pushed prices and rents to record levels, according to an article from wsws.org, and figures show that some 1.6 million people across the country struggled to pay their rent in 2014.
The article, which quoted the report, also noted that for a household with two parents and two children living on the government’s Newstart unemployment benefits, just 0.9 per cent of listed homes would be “affordable” and “appropriate.” A dwelling was deemed unaffordable if it would cost more than 30 percent of an income for those in the bottom 40 percent of the national income distribution.
In Sydney, house prices grew by 57 percent between January 2009 and January 2015, while Melbourne witnessed a 50 per cent growth over the same period.
Australians encouraged to pay down debt
Investors are snapping up properties at peak prices particularly in Sydney and Melbourne — and consumers spending up on plastic and signing up to personal loans are among those most likely to get caught up in a debt disaster, according to an article in news.com.au.
While experts are predicting rates to remain low for some time yet, Prushka Fast Debt Recover chief executive Roger Mendelson attacked Treasurer Joe Hockey’s comments made after last week’s rate cut calling for Australians “to borrow and invest.” He labelled it as bad advice.
“The biggest risk are highly-geared investors who are buying units because in order to get the benefits of a tax loss from negative gearing you need to borrow more because interest rates are low,’’ he said.
“One of the biggest problems is also people who have credit card debt and personal debt who aren’t homeowners.
“They’ve got more than one credit card and they are juggling them... they have hard core debt and these people don’t have financial resources to back them up.”
Recent research by Barclays found household debt in Australia including mortgages, credit cards, overdrafts and personal loans was among the worst in the world.
Sydney leading major cities in international investors
Sydney has emerged as one of the top four destinations for international property investors, ranking ahead of New York and Paris, a survey by global property group CBRE has found.
According to an article from the Sydney Morning Herald, Australia's biggest city is widely viewed from offshore as an attractive place to invest, the survey shows and the comes as Australia's big real estate investment trusts (REITs) all reported improved leasing and retail sales conditions for the quarter ended March 31, with some tapping the demand for urban renewal projects.
London retained its position as the world's most sought-after city for investors, followed by Tokyo and San Francisco. Sydney ranked fourth, ahead of New York.
"This ranking is no surprise, with Australia offering some of the highest returns on a global basis across all our core sectors, with returns on secondary assets being even more attractive. We are starting to see positive signs in the office sector in a range of Australian CBD markets, which will underpin growth expectations," he said.
