In the 1950s, Woody Guthrie lived in one of Fred Trump’s buildings. In newly discovered, never before published writings, Guthrie bitterly rails against the developer’s color line.
Foreign investment in housing: murky.
Jason Reed/Reuters
There’s no accurate data on foreign investment in Australian real estate, but what we do have suggests it’s only partly to blame for rising house prices.
Like in Monopoly, the rents keep on rising.
Toy houses via www.shutterstock.com
About a quarter of all renters are spending at least half of their income on housing, and the situation is projected to get much worse over the next decade.
Traffic in Accra, Ghana. With more people moving into cities, careful town planning is critical for sustainable development.
Shutterstock
Urban planning and development in Africa has been fraught with many challenges. A study of Accra and Nairobi provides some lessons on what needs to improve.
In cities like Nashville and Vancouver, home teardowns are on the rise.
'Demolition' via www.shutterstock.com
The federal government has missed an opportunity to give serious thought to housing affordability in Australia. The House Standing Committee on Economics recently released its report on individual foreign…
Warren Buffett has started rolling out his widely successful investment company, Berkshire Hathaway, into a consumer brand. Starting earlier this year, the famed investor began rebranding the energy companies…
A far cry from your average student digs.
Kensington house by r.nagy/Shutterstock
Mayfair, Belgravia and Kensington: all London boroughs associated with affluence and grandeur, not student accommodation. But today these areas play host to a burgeoning student population. With the internationalisation…
The government is seeking a free trade agreement with China by the end of the year, but concerns still remain about Chinese investment in Australia.
Daniel Munoz/AAP
As Prime Minister Tony Abbott shifts his Asian tour focus to China, it seems likely the threshold for formal approval on Chinese investment in Australia will be raised to A$1 billion. But any move to open…
A former mortgage broker - who is now facing fraud charges - has blown the whistle on predatory lending practices in Australia’s financial services industry.
Image from www.shutterstock.com
The level of sub-prime mortgages in Australia may be far in advance of what was previously assumed and provided for by banks. The story was broken on the ABC, and covered elsewhere. The revelations centred…
There is little evidence to suggest that foreign investment is driving up the prices of Australian real estate.
AAP
One question that arises on the topic of real estate is the scale of foreign investment and ownership in Australia. It is understandable that the public has concerns about such investment, especially as…
Damned lies and statistics: the figures indicate a significant deficit of dwellings in Australia. But is the methodology sound?
Capt' Gorgeous
One of the more interesting outcomes the 2011 Census produced was the figures concerning the housing market. The reason for this interest is how the results contrasted with the idea that Australia currently…
The foundations of the real estate industry are threatened by entrenched conflicts of interest.
thinkpanama
Conflicts of interest undermine the quality of advice and policy. It is critical to the functioning of markets and government that parties involved are free of conflicts, especially monetary ones. We would…
Our property prices are propped up by a range of political, economic and even emotional reasons.
AAP
Welcome to Safe as Houses, a series delving into a topic close to the heart of many Australians – property. This is not a series on where the market might be heading. Instead we aim to explore how we view…
Reducing the finance costs of housing will also reduce house prices.
Flickr/kennymatic
Welcome to Safe as Houses, a series delving into a topic close to the heart of many Australians – property. This is not a series on where the market might be heading. Instead we aim to explore how we view…
The US Occupy movement has turned its attention from corporate greed to the housing market.
AAP
Welcome to Safe as Houses, a series delving into a topic close to the heart of many Australians – property. This is not a series on where the market might be heading. Instead we aim to explore how we view…
Buyers’ playtime: Australians have splurged on mortgage debt.
Flickr/Bill Ward's brickpile
Our Safe as Houses series delves into a topic close to the heart of many Australians - property. This is not a series on where the market might be heading. Instead we aim to explore how we view property…
Are ordinary homeowners perpetuating Australia’s property bubble?
AAP
While my recent commentary (here and here) demonstrates Australian housing is in a bubble, I have not explained where this situation has come from. Asset markets, in this case, property, are the subject…
House prices grew by 127% between 1996 and 2010, but few people believe there is a property bubble.
AAP
One aspect of housing and stock market bubbles continually repeats: the vast majority of economists either miss or deny their existence. In recent years, enormous asset bubbles have burst in many countries…