Category Archives: Housing

Treasury reports pessimism around Qld residential construction

Posted on December 17, 2011 by Gene Tunny

Commonwealth Treasury has produced a nice write-up of current economic conditions across the two-speed economy in its latest business liaison report. It contains sobering news for people in the retail sector and Queensland’s residential building industry: Retail sector contacts report … Continue reading →

Posted in Housing, Macroeconomy, Retail trade | Leave a comment

Surge in residential lot development approvals in Townsville, small recovery in Cairns

Posted on November 12, 2011 by Gene Tunny

Back in the 1980s, there was concern in the Townsville community about how Cairns, then experiencing rapid growth, would over-take Townsville to become the so-called capital of North Queensland. Obviously, that is no longer a possibility as Townsville appears to … Continue reading →

Posted in Cairns, Housing, North Queensland, Townsville | 2 Comments

Rents growing again (modestly) after post-GFC stability

Posted on September 29, 2011 by Gene Tunny

The 2010-11 Annual Report of the Residential Tenancies Authority, released earlier this week, includes a wealth of interesting data relating to Queensland’s rental sector. While we know rents in some parts of Queensland (e.g. Gladstone) are soaring due to the … Continue reading →

Posted in Housing, Macroeconomy, Mining | Leave a comment

ULDA is a financial risk for government

Posted on September 16, 2011 by Gene Tunny

Previously I’ve asked “Does Queensland need an Urban Land Development Authority?” and it appears my concerns were well placed. Yesterday’s Townsville Bulletin reports Flood risk puts housing sales on hold: A STATE Government housing project at Oonoonba has been taken … Continue reading →

Posted in Housing, Townsville | 2 Comments

No reason to panic yet

Posted on August 8, 2011 by Gene Tunny

Our sharemarket has over-reacted to news of the US downgrade and continuing fears about European sovereign debt (Sharemarket closes almost 3pc down). As pointed out by financial economist Chris Joye, Australia’s economy is now largely tied to China and India … Continue reading →

Posted in Housing, Macroeconomy, Mining | Leave a comment

Ipswich apartment tower based on misunderstanding of what makes Ipswich attractive

Posted on July 14, 2011 by Gene Tunny

Over the 15 years from 2006 to 2021, Ipswich’s population is set to grow from 142,500 to 286,400 (OESR projections). Hence the developers of Ipswich’s first high-rise apartment tower probably thought they were on a winner, but that turned out … Continue reading →

Posted in Brisbane, Housing, Ipswich | Leave a comment

We should cut stamp duty, not increase it

Posted on June 14, 2011 by Gene Tunny

While today’s Queensland Budget was broadly ok and economically responsible, I was surprised by the removal of the stamp duty concession for existing home owners who buy a new place of residence. The Brisbane Times reports (Property market tipped to … Continue reading →

Posted in Budget, Housing, Queensland Government | 1 Comment

Queenslanders not meeting mortgage repayments

Posted on May 26, 2011 by Gene Tunny

In his speech on Recent Financial Developments, Ric Battellino, Deputy Governor of the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA), observed: Recently, it has been parts of Queensland and Western Australia that have shown a deterioration in loan arrears, albeit from low … Continue reading →

Posted in Housing, Macroeconomy | Leave a comment

Gladstone’s tight rental market

Posted on February 17, 2011 by Gene Tunny

The LNG-led boom in Gladstone is raising local concerns about a housing/rental crisis, as reported in yesterday’s Gladstone Observer: Housing/rental crisis not unique The tight rental market has prompted the usual criticisms of real estate agents and landlords: Gladstone Mayor … Continue reading →

Posted in Gladstone, Housing, Mining | Leave a comment

Brisbane housing “severely unaffordable”

Posted on January 24, 2011 by Gene Tunny

Average Brisbane house prices are 6.6 times the average household income, meaning Brisbane house prices are broadly comparable to those in London, which are 7.2 times the average household income. In affordable housing markets, such as Nashville in Tennessee, the … Continue reading →

Posted in Housing, Population | Leave a comment