20 June 2012 There are 90,700 vacant houses in Melbourne – 5.9 per cent of the total – according to Earthsharing Australia’s 5th annual Speculative Vacancies Report. “Our lazy land use makes a mockery of the drive for affordable housing,” researcher Philip Soos said today. Vacancy hotspots include: Docklands 14.1%, Williams Landing 13.5% and Truganina [...]

Thursday June 21st, 6.30pm Presenter: Philip Soos Prosper rooms, 1/27 Hardware Lane, Melbourne RSVP – gold coin donations Exciting young researcher Philip Soos is set to release our 5th Speculative Vacancies report. In the past, this report has been a lonely voice shining a light upon the lazy use of land in prime locations. Phil [...]

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 [...]

“With 46,220 properties vacant in Melbourne, the myth we have a housing shortage cannot go on much longer,” Earthsharing Australia spokesperson Karl Fitzgerald said today. Earthsharing’s Speculative Vacancies report highlights that tightness in rental stock does not equate to a lack of housing. The much quoted REIV’s 1.7% vacancy rate (Nov 2010) only refers to [...]

Australia’s endless debate about property prices pivots on the balance of supply and demand. Earthsharing’s Speculative Vacancies in Melbourne 2010 Report demonstrates that nearly five percent of all houses in Melbourne are simply empty and unused. The report identifies and measures the scale and extent of speculative vacancies – properties held out of use in [...]