Adam Schwab wrote up our fourth report on speculative vacancies in Crikey yesterday. Shortage or glut? Feast or famine? The question of whether Australia is suffering a housing shortage continues to be hotly disputed, with the real estate and construction lobbies arguing a desperate shortage exists, while other independent bodies, such as Prosper Australia, disputing [...]

Renegade Economists Podcast 176 As broadcast on the almighty 3CR, Wed 6th April, 2011. Bryan Kavanagh from the LVRG and one of our most active blogs, The Depression, brings his 40 years of experience in the land game to the show. We discuss the Buyers Strike and why now is not the time to buy [...]

The Rudd Government has reviewed the tax system. The Henry Review came out strongly in favour of capturing economic rents for the common good. Read our analysis of the report here and here. The Rudd Government has written off any serious reforms to issues relevant to housing affordability. Why tax $285bn from people daring to [...]

The 2009 I Want to Live Here report reveals how speculative vacancies are overlooked in housing supply analyses. “Inner city suburbs such as Richmond (7.40%), Princes Hill (8.76%) and Flemington (8.83%) had Genuine Vacancy Rates more than five times greater than the REIV’s vacancy rate of 1.4%” stated Earthsharing Australia spokesperson Karl Fitzgerald. “By including [...]

Vacancies in Melbourne Report Andrew Sadauskas EXECUTIVE SUMMARY – Broad Scope: Our research evaluated 652,695 properties across 23 different municipalities in the western, inner, southern, and south eastern suburbs of Melbourne. This represents nearly half of Melbourne’s 1,471,155 private dwellings. – Genuine Vacancy Rate: The Genuine Vacancy Rate includes all vacant properties, including those not [...]