[exporectomy]

Isn't the problem in Australia (and New Zealand) mainly caused by first home buyers? They seem to pay the maximum the bank will lend them with no regard for being profitable or a good investment. Just get the best house possible at any cost. Once they own them, they fill them with lower occupancy than investors do, so the supply of housing effectively decreases. I'm one of those people. My house used to be a rental with 5 people in it. Now we have only 3. My neighbor owner has 1 person in a 3 bedroom house.

[CTDOCodebases]

The problem is caused by a whole number of factors that incentivise people to buy houses they won’t live in.

Housing in Sydney is becoming a self fulfilling prophecy. The more people spend on it the more it’s value increases hence attracting more investors who drive prices up.

In order for this to stop the majority of the public will need to find this whole situation unacceptable.

I find it absurd that citizens from countries that disallow Australians to buy property can buy residential property here in Sydney. Apparently helping foreign citizens to avoid taxation/capital controls while propping up the construction/banking sector is more important than looking after the average citizens best interests.

[exporectomy]

And factors that incentivize people to buy houses with rooms they won't live in! I.e. owner-occupiers. I'm trying to say that these people are a major cause of high prices but they're the "us" and the "goodies" and even the "victims" so it's not popular to blame them. Instead, the popular opinion is to blame some outgroup like foreigners, nebulous "rich" people, "evil" investors, etc.

One way for it to stop is for owner-occupiers to stop fetishizing a single family home on a 1/4 acre section and tolerate living in a high density apartment like most people in big cities everywhere else in the world.

[CTDOCodebases]

They are contributing to the problem no doubt but I doubt they are the major reason. The prices of apartments are also rising. I rented a studio for 10 years in Sydney and the price doubled in that time. I would have purchased it or one similar if not for the lending restrictions that properties had to be over a specific size. So instead of owning my own place I paid off half of the owners investment property while they delayed and refused repairs at every opportunity.

I am not demonising these people. I am just merely saying that the Australian government, the banking industry and Australian society at large believe that it’s more important that a citizen/non-citizen can lease a residential property than it is for an average citizen and wage earner to be able to purchase a property to live in.

I find it funny that at the beginning of the pandemic when people were buying up all the available toilet paper to sell at a markup they were “selfish” but somehow doing the same with shelter is not.

[spfzero]

The prices are not being driven up by buyers with 5% down payments. They are being driven up by 100% cash buyers, people moving cash across national boundaries. Just look at the percentage of "all-cash" offers. That tells the whole story.

[renewiltord]

Considering that foreigners have to buy new build, how do you reconcile that with your view? What evidence would cause you to think it is not foreigners?

[spfzero]

I guess I didn't know that was a law? It's not in the U.S. Foreigners can buy anything they want.

But I don't think the distinction is meaningful, higher new build prices would drag up existing home prices.

[kwere]

They still heat the resale market

[voisin]

> They seem to pay the maximum the bank will lend them with no regard for being profitable or a good investment. Just get the best house possible at any cost.

Where is the direction of causality? I don’t know any first time home buyer that wants to be paying the maximum they can afford given bank lending standards. They are doing so because otherwise they cannot buy a house.

[exporectomy]

No. They can always buy a house in some small rural town. They chose to buy in more expensive places up to what they can borrow. Some people will buy a house a 1 hour commute from their work because that's all they can afford while others will be only 30 minutes away. I wanted to live closer to the nearby city but couldn't afford it so I ended up in a more distant poor suburb.