Property Owners in Australia: A Snapshot

Property represents more than half of all household assets in Australia and its share has been rising in recent years. Since most property purchases require debt financing because of the size of the purchase, property makes up a large part of both sides of households’ balance sheets. This paper uses household-level data to examine what determines the ownership of residential property and the holding of property debt by households in Australia. We examine these decisions for both owner-occupied and investment property. The results suggest that the household’s age, composition, income and wealth are important factors determining property ownership and gearing decisions. Income and wealth are found to be more influential in determining the value of property owned, while the household’s age is more influential in determining the gearing. Household composition is important for decisions on owner-occupied property, but has a limited influence on investment property decisions.home ownership; investment property; gearing

Measuring Property Owners’ Perceptions on Sustainable Tourism in a Coastal Resort Community

The purpose of this study is to explore factors influencing property owners’ attitude (both full time residents and second home property owners) toward sustainable actions in tourism development in an amenity-rich coastal community with a predominance of second home property owners. A total of 858 property owner respondents (466 permanent residents and 392 second home property owners) contributed to information about their perceptions on the importance of sustainable actions in tourism development and to future economy success in their community. Principal component analysis was used to identify the primary structural dimensions underlying the variables, as well as to avoid the effect of multicollinearity among independent variables. Factors influencing local resident property owners’ attitudes toward sustainable tourism development include gender and infrastructure, while only the quality of life factor is associated with second home property owners’ attitudes toward sustainable tourism development

Who pays business rates?

Non-domestic rates are a tax that is formally levied on the occupiers of nondomestic property in the United Kingdom. This does not imply that it is only the occupiers of business and other non-domestic property who are made worse off by the imposition of ‘business rates’. Some or all of the effective burden of nondomestic rates may be shifted backwards from the occupiers of business property to the owners of business property. This occurs if the rents that property owners can charge their tenants are reduced by the imposition of business rates. In this case, the total cost of occupying a business property (i.e. rent plus rates) is increased by less than the full amount of the non-domestic rates paid by occupiers, and part of the burden of business rates is borne by property owners in the form of lower rental income than they would otherwise have received. The effective incidence of non-domestic rates is then said to fall partly on property owners, and only partly on occupiers.

Property Value Assessment Growth Limits, Tax Base Erosion and Regional In-Migration

In 1994 a limit on the growth of property values for tax purposes was imposed in Michigan. One consequence of the newly imposed assessment growth cap was an emerging differential in tax prices between potential new property owners and long-time property owners. The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of this growing tax price differential on migration patterns. Using county level data on migration activity over the 1994-2006 period, we present evidence that differential tax prices resulting from the assessment growth cap have reduced in-migration.regional migration, tax base erosion, property tax, Michigan

What is the Relevant Parcel? Clarifying the Parcel as a Whole Standard in Murr v. Wisconsin

Murr v. Wisconsin seeks to determine whether commonly-owned, adjacent parcels of land are considered as 1 or 2 parcels for purposes of analyzing a regulatory takings claim. Nearly 40 years ago, the Court in Penn Central rejected a property owner\u27s takings claim which segmenting the entire parcel into discrete property rights because a compensatory taking must result from governmental action which interferes with the parcel as a whole. In Murr, property owners argue that a local zoning ordinance effected a taking of one of their two adjoining parcels because the ordinance prohibited the owners from developing their lot. I argue that the property owners deserve just compensation because of both material factual errors in the state court opinions and that Penn Central\u27s rejection of segmenting parcels does not require the aggregation of adjacent parcels

Estimating a Payment Vehicle for Financing Nourishment of Residential Beaches using a Spatial-lag Hedonic Property Price Model

Beach nourishment projects are common methods for coastal states to protect beaches and property from the natural erosive process. However, while the beneficiaries of beach nourishment tend to be local property owners and recreators, projects are typically funded at the state level. Based on the benefit principle, as local residents receive more of the erosion protection benefits of the nourishment projects, we estimate a value capture tax, designed to levy the financing burden in a manner that approximates the distribution of benefits. The benefits of nourishment projects to coastal property owners are estimated using the results from a spatial-lag hedonic model that controls for viewshed effects. Key Words:

Funding Culture: An Analysis of Historic Site Preservation Policy

This paper examines the way in which public funding and tax policies are applied to federally recognized historic preservation sites and how that application influences the a variety of stakeholder communities including tax payers, historical organizations, historic property owners, and municipalities

Roads and residents : measurement and mitigation of psychological stress : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Philosophy in Environmental and Resource Planning at Massey University

Psychological stress, suffered by property owners who are forced to relinquish land for roading development, is difficult to quantify. However, psychological stress can have a significant adverse impact on affected home and business owners. Currently, evaluations of roading projects only include a cursory assessment of psychological stress in the planning balance sheet. The aim of this thesis was to measure psychological stress suffered as a result of the imposition of roading designations and forced property purchases. The main research objectives were to examine whether it was possible to directly quantify the level of psychological stress suffered, and to identify mitigating factors that would reduce the impact of psychological stress. Forty-four residential and business property owners affected by four roading projects in Hastings and Christchurch completed a questionnaire and face-to-face interview on their personal experience of stress as a result of the roading development. A possible method of measuring stress symptoms and the impact of life changes was tested, based on the Holmes and Rahe Social Readjustment Rating Scale. Almost all interviewees acknowledged that they had experienced some degree of stress because of the roading development. However, results of the stress symptoms and life impact surveys varied and appeared to be more dependent on the individual's circumstances than on the impact of the roading project. Eighty-five percent of interviewees believed that communication between roading authorities and property owners could be improved. It appears that stress can be significantly mitigated by providing affected owners with more direct contact with roading representatives and regular information updates on the development's progress. The issue of compensation also requires addressing in order to reduce the amount of stress suffered. Currently property owners receive the market value for any land and improvements lost but no other compensation is provided. All interviewees believed that they were financially worse off regardless of whether they were losing all or part of their property. However, where an independent negotiator had been employed to finalise the property purchases, interviewees were more positive and acknowledged that this had helped achieve a win-win solution and a reduction in the level of stress they had suffered

Struggles to remain in Kigali’s “unplanned” settlements: the case of Bannyahe

Examining the precarious status of informal settlements in Kigali at a time of large-scale planning-induced expropriation, this article considers urban contestation in the context of the city’s changing spatial-legal regime. We analyse the case of one informal settlement’s expropriation and relocation – the settlement of Bannyahe – and the contestation that has ensued as resident property owners take the District of Gasabo to court. Through interviews with settlement residents, we follow the fates of these displaced urban citizens and consider their struggles to remain in their homes. Finally, we suggest that such contestation over legal procedural regularity and negotiation over property valuation at the neighbourhood level forms the limit of overt opposition to the city’s masterplan. Terming these limits to contestation “silent boundaries” that circumscribe contestation for property owners in the Bannyahe settlement, we offer perspectives on contestation and compromise amidst urban socio-spatial reordering in the “new Kigali”

BLACK FARMERS AND RURAL HEIR PROPERTY OWNERS: PUBLIC POLICY RESPONSE

Agricultural and Food Policy,