Australia - Cost of Living.

[Black Orchid]

It's not a matter of just getting a job. A 2 bedroom unit with 1 car space sold near me recently for over $1 million. From the copious amounts of unwanted real estate junk mail I receive it seems that most are selling for around $980,000. Chinese keep pushing the market.

I worry for our kids. After accruing potentially huge University debts what hope do they have? Not that long ago 1 or 2 bedroom units were stepping stones into the market. Not anymore, unless you want to move well away from your roots.

[Neferti]

It's not a matter of just getting a job. A 2 bedroom unit with 1 car space sold near me recently for over $1 million. From the copious amounts of unwanted real estate junk mail I receive it seems that most are selling for around $980,000. Chinese keep pushing the market.

I worry for our kids. After accruing potentially huge University debts what hope do they have? Not that long ago 1 or 2 bedroom units were stepping stones into the market. Not anymore, unless you want to move well away from your roots.

Nobody is telling our kids to buy their First Home (or Unit) in Sydney! Melbourne isn't much better. Try Canberra where the young are whining and wingeing, as well about cost. They want everything handed on a platter. You do NOT need to buy the best house in the best suburb that you will live in "forever", as your first "property".

http://www.allhomes.com.au/ah/act/sale-residential

As far as University debts .. a University Degree does not guarantee a job in your "special" field. You still need brains and motivation. FREE Uni was a Whitlam thing. Everybody who got a Degree before 1975 had to get a loan or have their parents mortgage their homes, etcetera.

Sorry, but Life was NEVER meant to be easy!

[Black Orchid]

Nobody is telling our kids to buy their First Home (or Unit) in Sydney! Melbourne isn't much better.

Nobody is telling anyone where or what to buy.

Try Canberra where the young are whining and wingeing, as well about cost. They want everything handed on a platter.

No offence but I wouldn't live in Canberra if you paid me to. Cheap isn't always good and why should kids HAVE to move well away from their roots just to be able to purchase a house/unit. Maybe the Canberran kids are whinging and whining for good reason. I wonder how much work there is for Uni graduates in Canberra if they don't want to work as a public servant. Perhaps we could interest all the Sydney Chinese and Muslims in Canberra?

You do NOT need to buy the best house in the best suburb that you will live in "forever", as your first "property"

I don't know about you but I don't consider a small 2 bedder to be the best house in the best street.

As far as University debts .. a University Degree does not guarantee a job in your "special" field.

No-one said it did.

You still need brains and motivation.

Most people get into debt to attend University because they do have the brains and the motivation. The days of the corn flakes arts/law degree is a hippy/lazy thing of the past.

FREE Uni was a Whitlam thing. Everybody who got a Degree before 1975 had to get a loan or have their parents mortgage their homes, etcetera.

Whitlam did something right then. Education and health care should be readily available to all Australians. If we made higher education more attainable to ALL Aussies we wouldn't have to import foreign workers. If indexation on student loans is changed the cost of an engineering degree could almost double The house price to income ratio is also far higher now than it was 30 years ago.

Universities Australia predicts the cost of an engineering degree — currently around $37,000 — could soar by 70 per cent to $63,000, and with student loan repayments subject to higher interest rates, the HELP debt for an engineering graduate could top $199,000.

This could put higher education out of the reach of ordinary Australians and our Universities will simply be filled with foreign students.

Sorry, but Life was NEVER meant to be easy!

The golden era is long gone.

[mantra]

It is hard for our children to get ahead once they're in the workforce, but they've got a lot more to spend their money on than their parents had. They often lead a lifestyle that we wouldn't have even considered. Sixty percent of them will have to rule out buying a property unless they're prepared to make some serious sacrifices. Many of them wouldn't settle for an old fibro cottage outside of a capital city. These homes can still be scooped up in accessible areas for about $350,000 if they bothered to look.

Overseas and interstate holidays are another thing that appear to be essential to their lifestyle and not just the once a year escape. Then there's the technology, which has to be continually updated and this isn't cheap either. They have also grown up in a disposable society where nothing is recycled, repaired or re-used, but discarded and replaced with something shinier and faster.

Aside from the above, there are huge increases in rates and insurance each year and of course they are passed onto renters. Food seems to have remained fairly stable and even cheap when it comes to fruit and vegetables. It makes you wonder how our farmers are surviving.

[Rorschach]

I think you'll find in NSW most (fibro) houses at that price are west of Blacktown and have no access to public transport or in need of repair.

[Black Orchid]

I was specifically referring to Sydney whilst others seem to be making comparisons to the cities/towns where they reside.

Retirement is one thing and there are many places outside the main capitals where cheaper housing is available, the stress of commuting for several hours a day is not necessary and where high rents don't hinder in the saving of a deposit for a starter home, but for young people just starting their careers/families etc the long commutes and high rents are forcing them out of Sydney and Melbourne.

It should be a choice but it isn't anymore and foreign housing investment in our major cities should be halted.

[Rorschach]

Median house prices in August 2014

Sydney: up 0.6 per cent to $587,000.
Melbourne: up 0.2 per cent to $507,000.
Brisbane: up 1.5 per cent to $429,000.
Adelaide: up 0.7 per cent to $380,000.
Perth: down 0.2 per cent to $499,500.
Hobart: down 1.9 per cent to $289,000.
Darwin: up 0.7 per cent to $495,000.
Canberra: up 0.9 per cent to $503,000.
Average: up 0.5 per cent to $490,000.

Source: RP Data-Rismark August Hedonic Home Value Ind

[Neferti]

Median house prices in August 2014

Sydney: up 0.6 per cent to $587,000.
Melbourne: up 0.2 per cent to $507,000.
Brisbane: up 1.5 per cent to $429,000.
Adelaide: up 0.7 per cent to $380,000.
Perth: down 0.2 per cent to $499,500.
Hobart: down 1.9 per cent to $289,000.
Darwin: up 0.7 per cent to $495,000.
Canberra: up 0.9 per cent to $503,000.
Average: up 0.5 per cent to $490,000.

Source: RP Data-Rismark August Hedonic Home Value Ind

Median price? Rubbish.

[Rorschach]

You think?
So what is the median then?
From my pov that seems right for NSW. The average/mean may be higher. For Sydney it is probably higher.

[Neferti]

You think?
So what is the median then?
From my pov that seems right for NSW. The average/mean may be higher. For Sydney it is probably higher.

Check the figures, mate.

Sydney: up 0.6 per cent to $587,000.
Melbourne: up 0.2 per cent to $507,000.
Canberra: up 0.9 per cent to $503,000.

BULLSHIT!