Category Archives: Housing

Heritage protection imposing high costs

Posted on May 18, 2014 by Gene Tunny

The head of the Financial Stability Department at the Reserve Bank of Australia, Luci Ellis, delivered an excellent speech last week on Space and Stability: Some reflections on the Housing-Finance System. In the speech she observed: The cumulation of individual … Continue reading →

Posted in Housing | Tagged , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Senate inquiry should consider impact of heritage protection on housing affordability

Posted on May 6, 2014 by Gene Tunny

I was pleased to see the Queensland Government note, in its submission (available on the submissions page) to the Federal Senate Inquiry into Affordable Housing in Australia, that “local government must be more responsive and flexible if improved housing affordability is to … Continue reading →

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Residential building approvals have recovered nicely – but some weakness still in regions

Posted on March 4, 2014 by Gene Tunny

It appears Master Builders Queensland was right to report last month that Queensland builders are optimistic (see my post on the report), with today’s new residential building approvals from the ABS showing a strong upward trend nationally and in Queensland … Continue reading →

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NQ and Mackay region builders the least optimistic

Posted on February 17, 2014 by Gene Tunny

I just noticed Master Builders Queensland released its latest survey of industry conditions last week. While it shows a positive outlook on average across all regions, the outlook is only just positive in the North Queensland and Mackay regions (see … Continue reading →

Posted in Housing, Mining, North Queensland, Townsville | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Billions of benefits from selling Gladstone and Townsville ports

Posted on February 3, 2014 by Gene Tunny

My colleague and friend Brad Rogers, who is also Secretary of the Queensland branch of the Economic Society of Australia, has written a nice post arguing for privatisation of Queensland’s Government-owned ports at his new blog: Queensland Ports For Sale Brad … Continue reading →

Posted in Budget, Housing, Transport | Tagged , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Rent auctions linked to constraints on inner city development

Posted on January 30, 2014 by Gene Tunny

A story in mX yesterday afternoon highlighted an unnecessary law against so-called rent auctions: Brisbane’s rental squeeze is forcing prospective tenants to offer landlords extra cash to secure a place to live. As competition for properties in the inner city … Continue reading →

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Good pick up in home loans in Qld over 2013

Posted on January 13, 2014 by Gene Tunny

I agree with MacroBusiness’s assessment (New home finance takes a breather) that the number of loans for the construction or purchase of new houses, which is linked closely with the health of the building industry, picked up in Queensland over … Continue reading →

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Where is residential development occurring in the Brisbane metro area?

Posted on January 11, 2014 by Gene Tunny

Every month the ABS releases new data on residential building approvals for Level 2 Statistical Areas (SA2s), which broadly correspond to suburbs, at least in the major cities. I’ve mapped the number of approvals for suburbs in the Brisbane metropolitan … Continue reading →

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Good news for Qld building industry as new apartment approvals surge

Posted on January 10, 2014 by Gene Tunny

Conditions will certainly improve in the Queensland building industry over 2014 as residential building approvals continue to recover (see first chart below based on the new ABS data), although we shouldn’t get too excited yet because the recovery appears to … Continue reading →

Posted in Housing | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Guest post – Old Queenslanders in a New City

Posted on November 15, 2013 by Gene Tunny

This is a guest post from my friend and colleague Brad Rogers, who is also Secretary of the Queensland Branch of the Economic Society of Australia. Views expressed are Brad’s own, and are not necessarily shared by me, our employer … Continue reading →

Posted in Brisbane, Housing, Transport | Tagged , , , , , , | 5 Comments