Do you think Sydney Property Prices are getting to expensive?
12 Comments
Our living standards are great, we also have alot of property that is waterfront or near water which drives prices up, so i would have to agree. Even some of our not so nice areas are better then other parts of the world, we are quite fortunate.
Coming from New Zealand in 1989, I brought my first property in Bondi where else did kiwis live, ideal!
it was 1 bedroom unit on Sandridge St near Bondi Road with Ocean views for $127,000. Now in those days Bondi was ordinary. I left Australia in 1993 sold the unit for $148,000 and headed for Europe as a kiwi backpacker and have since lived between Switzerland and London (wife been Italian Swiss!)...............I headed back to Bondi at Xmas to catch up with some old friends first time since 1993, wow the place has had a face lift big time, was the Bondi hotel in those days that's about it and a few good cafe/restaurants, couldn't believe the place, imagine if I held onto my unit I kept saying to my wife and sons looking at the crazy prices. How can inflation rise that much talking to my friends! its impossible. I mean the salaries in my field (IT) didn't seem to increase that much I was on $54,000 in those days its now $75-100K depending. Glad I'm not living in Sydney anymore, how can you live beyond your means. Forum above, yeah Western Suburbs was always run down in my day as well, was crime ridden then by Aussie standards. Anyway the Aussie property market must burst it just doesn't make any sense to me......good luck:)
true, population is a big driving factor in all of this. Cost of living will definitely rise out of control in the next 10 yrs - taking note of the shortage of retirement homes for the aging population of the baby boomers. Longer working hours and still unable to afford a home - we're in for a bright future!
The government has to slow down population growth or we are stuffed. I will move from Sydney because all the new migrants taking all the affordable housing. I have lived here 53 years and my father faught a war for this country but why bother we have been taken over anyway. Our living standard will slip further in future.
Actually, our living standards are rising, not falling. Sure, there's pockets within society where standards ebb and flow ....... that happens all the time in both good and bad times. And migrants are one of the main reasons why Australia has prospered. Everyone here is either a migrant or descended from one. Even our aboriginal people came from elsewhere. Post war migration especially benefited Australia, and migration continues to give Australia much needed skills, experience and benefit.
Housing prices need to be regulated, but this will NEVER happen. Why? We live in a capitalist nation. Property sellers are allowed, in fact encouraged, to screw buyers for every cent possible. It's the way the system works. Some people have the skills to physically build their home (these few people are GREATLY advantaged), but almost all don't have those skills and must rely on the "system". And the "system" dictates that the seller screws the buyer for every cent possible. And the seller has no choice. Why? Because the seller of the next house he/she buys will play exactly the same game. Result: In times of housing shortage prices go UP UP UP UP UP UP ........... and the average, ordinary, private buyer and seller (just looking for a home to live in) get's NO BENEFIT.
But who gets the benefit? We all know the answer to that (or "should" know).
Some people's living standards have risen but take a walk through Martin Place and see all the homeless people. We are over populated. It is nothing against migrants it is just that there are too many. A lot of migrants don't want more migrants because it will be overcrowded like the country they left for a better quality of life. The crime rate and lack of respect for each other in this country is well....UnAustralian.
Unless you are wealthy with rich parents then you won't have access to all the amazing 'benefits' of living in Sydney. Yes there are some amazing places to live up in the Northern Beaches and around the inner city. But you won't be able to live in these places unless you're earning six figures. Drive an hour away from the city from which you will probably commute every day, and you're still faced with million dollar price tags for a crappy home. Even if you do manage to get onto the property market you won't have the quality of life promised by some optimists. It's not only house prices that are ridiculous. The concentration of market power in a small number of companies means grocery and electricity prices are up the roof. I am seriously considering moving out of this city, and potentially out of this country because I can't see any improvement in the future. Given my parents are not rich, I don't see myself buying a house in Sydney ever unless there is a significant crash.
Houses are no longer homes to live in. They have become comodities for people to speculate on. No sane person can justify these prices unless those who own a house. People who own a house in sydney has goose bumps as they see the value of property going up everyday. Most of those individuals who are in the government also own multiple investment properties so they are all in favour of this housing boom that is keeping our young people away from owning a property. This madness will end one day. This will happen throuh external factors like our banks may need to pay more interest to borrow money so they will pass the burden to house owners. Those who bought the properties for millions will struggle to pay the mortgage. Investors will flee like doves when their greed comes to an end. Selfish polticians and policy makers will one day regret of this housing game. Housing is one of the fundamental right for humans so the government should ensure that every family has roof over their head at a low cost.
Yep insanely expensive even with prices falling. We are not overpopulated, there are 90,000 empty houses in Sydney alone. We need an empty house tax, regulations on air bnbs and negative gearing to be abolished. Wages have not kept pace with this insane growth. All of my friends bough houses ten years ago and couldn't do it without help from family, they have told me there is no way they could buy now. My friends house across the road has tripled in price over the last ten years. It's scary and not right. People say move out of major cities but I am not even talking about cities it's crazy expensive everywhere. Food, petrol and energy has also risen something really needs to be done to make it more affordable. I'm tired of seeing so many empty houses, million dollar dilapidated crappy houses, living in super exorbitant sh$#$y rentals unable to save a deposit because I am paying off the mortgage of some boomers third property.
Without question they are expensive. The high prices in Sydney have literally ruined the high quality of life Australian's once possessed. As a scientist in Australia I earn a little more than I did in Edinburgh. Currently house prices in Sydney are 12 times the average income whereas in Edinburgh the average is 6! My salary in Sydney can afford some crappy two bedroom flat in the city here, but a 4/5 bedroom house in Edinburgh! Now granted Sydney does have sun, the harbour is beautiful but to be honest the bulk of the city is pretty ugly! And certainly not a patch on Edinburgh overall to look at! Also, crime is lower in Edinburgh than here, it is closer to other great cities and Europe! The level of culture in Sydney is non-existent (or over hyped)....you need to send your kids to private school to get a decent education, cos state schools are pretty poor by international standards. My sister has a similar income to me but she can afford a new Range Rover and a caravan thanks to not paying 50% of her income on a mortgage (let alone all the other overpriced goods, clothes, utility bills etc) in Scotland. As a Sydneysider I'm looking forward to living for once and not living to pay off a crappy overpriced shithole! When Covid is over I'm moving back to Edinburgh asap.