Australian PM Rudd Housing Initiatine Pathetic

Subject: "AUSTRALIAN PM RUDD HOUSING INITIATINE PATHETIC" SAYS DEMOGRAPHIA

MEDIA RELEASE
(immediate release)

3 March 2008

DEMOGRAPHIA
www.demographia.com

“RUDD HOUSING INITIATIVE PATHETIC” – SAYS DEMOGRAPHIA

The Australian Prime Minister Hon Kevin Rudd today announced taxpayer financed incentives to encourage more rental housing construction and computer infrastructure to assist in speeding up consent processing times.

“This can only be described as an extremely pathetic initiative to a serious undersupply of affordable housing problem” said Hugh Pavletich, co author of the Annual Demographia International Housing Affordability Survey.

The 2008 4th Edition Demographia Survey released late January covering 227 urban markets of the 6 nations of the Anglo world (Australia, New Zealand, United States, Canada, Ireland and the United Kingdom) – found that Australia (with New Zealand) had the most unaffordable housing of the nations surveyed.

Australians (and New Zealanders) are required to pay 6.3 times annual household earnings to house themselves, the British 5.5 times, the Irish 4.7, the Americans 3.6 and the Canadians 3.1 times annual household earnings.

In relationship to incomes – Australians are forced to pay in excess of twice as much as Canadians and those living in most United States cities.

The Annual Demographia Surveys with Australian and international research have found that starving and artificially inflating fringe land prices is the core problem that needs to be addressed.

New starter housing of 200 square metres on 500 square metre lots on the urban fringes should be put in place for around $140,000, with about $30,000 for the lot and $110,000 for the actual house construction.

“The evidence is crystal clear, overwhelming and irrefutable. Young Australians deserve the same housing opportunities as their counterparts in North America” said Mr Pavletich, adding “Mr Rudd needs to stop playing games with this serious issue and start working with the States and Local Government to restore these fringe pricing levels over a reasonable and realistic time frame”

For further information

Hugh Pavletich
Co author – Annual Demographia International Housing Affordability Survey
www.demographia.com

Further information
Demographia
Scoop NZ article - Hugh Pavletich
"Restoring the Housing Opportunity" - Hugh Pavletich
"Young New Zealanders deserve affordable housing" - Hugh Pavletich

ENDS

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