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I've been checking out real estate prices in San Francisco via a few sites. My question: is Australian real estate really "so incredibly expensive" on a like for like basis. I'm not convinced it is.
WHERE in southern new england can you get a 3BR/2BA home for $300,000? I certainly would like to know.
I used to live in Greenwich, Connecticut.. can't get more southern than that.. I once lived in this development: http://www.realtor.com/realestateand...74-56783?row=5
1.4Million for a TOWNHOME (you shared a wall with your neighbor)... you'd be on your back patio and your neighbor would be on theirs pretty much next to you..not exactly cheap... but at least you got 3 BR and 3 BA
I've been checking out real estate prices in San Francisco via a few sites. My question: is Australian real estate really "so incredibly expensive" on a like for like basis. I'm not convinced it is.
San Francisco is probably the most expensive real estate market in the USA. There are surveys that point out expensive markets. Australia is severely overvalued for most of the housing stock.
I've been checking out real estate prices in San Francisco via a few sites. My question: is Australian real estate really "so incredibly expensive" on a like for like basis. I'm not convinced it is.
You're probably right. House prices to income are a measure of affordability but a flawed one. If Australia jacked up property taxes to 5% of the value of property I will guarantee you that house prices will fall substantially. So the ratio will have improved but affordability won't have, the money that would have otherwise flowed to debt servicing instead is used to pay property tax. By the same token, Australian families pay one of the lowest rates of tax anywhere in the world through handbacks (middle class welfare) but these differences in tax rates are omitted because prices to incomes uses pre-tax income. You've also got the effect of generally poor areas will have lower price to income ratios for no other reason than people in those communities have less income after paying for life's necessities like food, clothing, electricity, water, heating etc that can be directed toward housing.
It should also be pointed out that the guys who run Demographia, the guys who compile that affordability survey, are an interest group who want to push their own agenda. So take their "surveys" with a grain of salt.
That's not really true. The urbanization rate for both countries is similar.
Yeah, no. If the US were like Australia most of the states would be empty.
This is an example of how wrong you can be if you just google for a number. These two things are not the same. In fact, they're so different that using the same word (urban) is laughable.
Quote:
The ABS Section of State (SOS) Structure of the ASGS defines Urban and Rural.
SOS aggregates the Urban Centre and Locality (UCL) on the basis of population ranges i.e. all UCLs in a S/T within a particular population range are combined into a single SOS.
There are 4 SOS identifiers and names. These are listed below with definitions.
SOS Identifiers and Names
Identifier Name Definition
0 Major Urban Major Urban represents a combination of all Urban Centres with a population of 100,000 or more
1 Other Urban Other Urban represents a combination of all Urban Centres with a population between 1,000 and 99,999
2 Bounded Locality Bounded Localities represents a combination of all Bounded Localities
3 Rural Balance Rural Balance represents the Remainder of State/Territory
Quote:
Urban areas in the United States are defined by the U.S. Census Bureau as contiguous census block groups with a population density of at least 1,000 /sq mi (390 /km2) with any census block groups around this core having a density of at least 500 /sq mi (190 /km2). Urban areas are delineated without regard to political boundaries. The census has two distinct categories of urban areas. Urbanized Areas have populations of greater than 50,000, while Urban Clusters have populations of less than 50,000 but more than 2,500.
Last edited by WildColonialGirl; 10-30-2014 at 08:05 PM..
This isn't something that's restricted to Australia. High housing costs are a phenomenon in major cities around the world. It creates a considerable barrier of entry of the global 20-early 30 something demographic entering the real estate market.
Greenwich is one of the richest towns in the United States.
I'm well aware of that.. I lived there.
You missed my point completely. The OP was saying in Southern New England you can get a house with xxx.. xxx for 300,000.. I was asking WHERE... There are many parts of Southern England where this simply not true. The Gold Coast, Boston and suburbs, etc. etc.
I was curious as to where they lived where they could live so cheaply here.
So a couple pulls in $150K/yr...what kind of jobs are these?? Are they miners or mortgage brokers?
2 full-time school teachers about 4 or 5 years after graduating - 26 year old's who went to school, got a uni degree in teaching, then got a job teaching. Just to name 1 potential scenario.
Heck, if they don't have kids and each work a few nights per week for extra income it could easily be $20-$30k more.
Which, when you look at the hours teachers work, isn't that hard to fathom they might take on additional work.
This isn't something that's restricted to Australia. High housing costs are a phenomenon in major cities around the world. It creates a considerable barrier of entry of the global 20-early 30 something demographic entering the real estate market.
Correct, even now in the US after a significant housing crash the more popular major cities rival prices in Australian capitals.
The USA has FAR more population centres and the less popular ones lower that headline average house price for the country. In addition we often see US city METRO area prices compared to say what is "technically" Sydney for example, can be very misleading.
Of course the Aus media don't care about accuracy and like to push the "Prices are increasing, quick buy now!!", anything to put pressure on buyers and appease their clients (banks and real estate).
Seen this garbage in every developed country over the last 15 years+, just not all markets have crashed yet.
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