Is there a relationship between price and new construction in the residential markets of Australia? A preliminary finding.

This paper undertakes a study using a series of correlation analysis to investigate the relationship between new residential construction and prices. It also investigates to see whether there are any common factors that influence the residential prices and new residential dwellings over the past 25 years

Population growth and housing affordability in the modern city-Sydney a case study

Urban populations are forecast to increase in coming decades. Population growth is a major underlying factor for the demand of housing and without a new supply of dwellings, it pushes up the prices for both renting and purchasing dwellings. The resultant fall in affordability is a problem that is further compounded in many large cities by the change in living preferences that has resulted in a fall in household occupancy rates, particularly in the western world

Is Australia Selling Off Its Real Estate?

In the recent Federal election campaign in Australia, the Greens political party and several other candidates from other political persuasion expressed a concern that Australia was opening up and selling off its real estate to foreign buyers. They also argued that this has resulted in making residential real estate unaffordable to the average person in Australia. According to the Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB), the level of 'expected' foreign investment in Australian real estate has increased from $269 million to$45 billion over the past 30 years. This paper will examine the regulations for foreign investment in the Australian real estate market and identify the critical changes to these regulations over the past three decades. It will also identify the changing investment patterns and the level of investment and see if there is a relationship between foreign investment and rising prices in the Australian residential real estate market

A profile of property economists and the maturation of the academic discipline

Property economics as an academic discipline is now in a mature phase compared to its circumstances two decades ago. Early academics were drawn from industry or related disciplines where research histories were thin and doctorates were rare, however this imbalance is reversing. The current profile of academics in property economics is contrasted to the academic populations of selected universities. Internal promotion prospects and considered in contrast with other disciplines. Career paths are explored in terms of the necessity to move for advancement versus internal promotion. The research reveals a shift in emphasis in the makeup of property economics academics, though they still appear to exhibit differences to other disciplines

The underlying fundamentals of housing affordability: the Sydney dynamics

Once recognised as one of the highest home ownerships in the world, Australia has been experiencing a decline in housing affordability over the past decade or so. Whilst the reason for this is fundamentally increasing dwelling price in relation to household income, the underlying factors are varied. Much of the discussion has centred on the increase in dwelling price in Australia and in particular the capital cities with Sydney being the least affordable. But there have also been twelve consecutive increasesin interest rates, which add to the repayment of loans. Furthermore, on the supply side, amidst all this, there has been a declining trend in new dwelling building supply. This paper will identify the various underlying factors, including demographic, economic, government and building activity and show why there is no one solution to the problem

No pain, no gain - the issue of housing stress

The paper uses Sydney housing prices and rental costs to demonstrate that the pain (stress) for the purchaser may not necessarily be long term and the pain may well result in long-term gain

Why the decline in new residential building activity?

The phenomenon of cycles with peaks and troughs is a normal feature of a market economy and despite similar phases, each specific cycle varies in duration and intensity. In the decade to 2003 - 4 in Australia, housing prices have had a sustained growth in most capital cities but the supply of new dwellings has a downward sloping trendline. At the same time there has been a steady increase in population underlying the need for more dwellings. So why is there a decline in new residential building activity? This paper undertakes an empirical study to investigate the factors that influence the residential building cycle and how they applied to the Sydney residential market over the past 25 years. The results show that whilst real price and GDP have some influence in the fluctuation of building approvals, it is the costs of development, in particular GST and BASIX which have influenced the downward movement of residential building activity over the past few years