Carrianne

Hi,

Or, as the news said least affordable and it is in compared to wages.

Old news but I am still amazed that the Sunshine Coast is now one of the least affordable places in Australia. I can see that house prices just keep going up. More houses being built with less land is driving up prices of houses with land etc. As it is a desirable place to live, not just for immigrants but other Australians too. I was doing a bit of research and I would say that the meridian house price has now gone up to about $430.

A 4 bedroom house on my street, no pool, small outdoor area, air con in 1 room going for $477k

I am so glad I got on the property ladder a year and a half ago. Funnily enough when we first moved over prices were ridiculous and over priced, now they have caught with those initial prices.

So beware if you are not a cashed up pom then wages V's house prices here is a consideration. Apparently we are more expensive in comparative wages than New York ???

jce

That is the key part of this story!

House prices are essentially no different for equivalents in nearby Brisbane or the Gold Coast BUT when you factor in the wages you'll find that the average Sunshine Coast wage is much lower, and therefore the "affordability" is much lower

Thats mainly cause most jobs here are seasonal and based around the tourism industry which is notorious the world over for paying poor wages.

If you look behind the story and whos being quoted in the local papers you'll see its all about the amalgamation of the 3 Councils and who wants to be the $140,000 a year mayor!!! Also most of the lead contenders are somewhat linked (in back pockets springs to mind) to the construction industry. They are commenting that the costs are so high because demand is outstripping supply in the housing sector then more land should be released for housing!

The local politicians are upset cause the land allocation process is determined by the Local Plan who's targets are set by the State Government thus taking the decisions about supply of housing land out of the local politicians hands reducing the back handers to allow their developer friends to build more houses.

Caloundras development plan was funded by two major developers (one of which was Stockland) and i'm sure you'll be surprised to learn that of the 5 major sites that plan suggested should be developed 3 are owned by Stockland!

Politicians the world over are liars but this local lot still seem to think that its the wild west up here and that their personal wealth is more important than the role they are being paid to do! Never believe anything a politician says because underneath what they are saying is all about their personal gain - ego or money.

Another fine example is the "Environmental Levy" of $60 a year that we all pay which is supposed to go towards acquiring land to keep for nature, improvement projects for flora and fauna etc but is really a nice large slush fund to pay for certain politicians pet projects to get them elected - none of which have anything to do with environmental improvements. Now the mayor of one of the Councils who approved the suspect spending of that fund is campaigning that if elected he'll make sure the money is spend on what it should be.

And people are falling for this. Isnt that a song about a Banana Republic i hear?

kevinbloomfield

Well said that man (or woman)

Carrianne

I find people are always surprised how low the wages are, when they get here and some I know, have moved on as sustainability was not afforded here.

Of course developers never reduce land values you cannot get a bargain as that would reduce their income and their future prices. I have seen the plan that goes from Kawana Island down to Bells Creek. I don't think there will be a shortage of houses just developers wanting the land values to remain high.However larger block homes 650+ plus in Caloundra anyway will end up at a premium as the cottage block is here to stay. I have a friend who is into developing and the move is with the cottage block to a quasi garage/outdoor area.

Timber Floor Au

Not really with you on this?

Stockland, Delfin etc have invested heavily, in shire regional areas such as the Sunshine Coast.

The fact is, when housing was affordable , no one wanted to live there.

Now that this area is being developed, those with money ( developer ) from say Brisbane, Ipswich, Sydney etc.. are pouring their money into a regional area.

The fact wages, are lagging behind, is just symtomatic of progress, and the lag effect should elastic band itself back in line with housing affordability, in the medium term.

Also, those as Carriane said, that bought 18 months or even longer ago, will have bought in a less bouyant median house price market, and will be in the equity rich list.

I personally think, its the best news since sliced bread.

I mean how often do you hear of areas, that wages exceed borrowing? you dont.

So the slingshot effect will indeed hit Caloundra, and all the smart arses who bought there 18 months or so ago, will reap the benefits.

Sunshine coast, in my opinion pisses on the gold coast, which I still think should be pushed into NSW as a outer northern suburb of sydney

The sunshine coast in my humble opinion, will be the most sought after destination, tourism and living in the next 20 years.

As for the amalgamation of the 3 shires into the Moreton Bay thing...

Well lol, lets be honet here, Caboulture Council is about as behind the times, and ridiculously ruled as the flintstones bowling club !

Ste

kevinbloomfield

We aint joining up with Moreton Bay! we are joining up with Caloundra and Noosa.
I've said it on here before, the wages up here are crap, the employers always use the excuse of it being a 'lifestyle' choice whereas what it really is is the employers being greedy. The only way to earn anything half decent is to either be self employed or work in something like town planning which pays $100,000+ per year.
I hope you (Timber Floor AU) are right and eventually the wages rise in line with the rest of the country, maybe if a few decent companies move up here and pay decent fair wages the local greedy employers will have to follow suit?

Carrianne

Kevin - we know that, but many people moving over don't. I know this is a reason why some people have moved back to the UK.

Timber Floor Au

Yer, apologies for the 3 shire bit, but my point was, that this will bring the sunshine coast closer to brisbane suburb shires.
I think , that with the infrastructure, commercial and real estate developments... it will increase pay, in line with affordability and consumer demand.
Obviously, no one can predict what greedy employers will do, to take advantage of employees ! Lets hope the balance and mix equals out

jce

nope. I spent 20 years working in economic development and structural regional planning and this just doesnt happen unless there are raw materials involved in inaccessible locations. Increases in infrastructure are about ensuring that the region is not only easy to get to for tourists - who provide some of the income but more importantly to ensure that the area is easily accessible for commuters into the major conurbation of Brisbane. The Sunshine Coast will never be more than a dormitory for city workers and a holiday destination. Its only hope in employment is the hi tech and knowledge industries which they are making a small amount at starting, as these prefer to be in locations where life quality is more important

But as i said in my original post the politicians and developers are one. There is more profit in housing land than in employment land. Developers only invest where there is profit to be made - they dont do it for the benefit of the local community, they do it for the benefit of their shareholders. They are investing here because its far easier to flatten a bit of forest in the shires and build rather than have to build in an already built up area. Wages for staff are also lower here

I'm also curious about this concept of "affordable" housing. When was it ever thus? Actual house prices may have been lower then but so were wages (for the majority). I've never been anywhere in the world where house buying is easily affordable compared to the local wages. Its a myth perpetuated by people who only look at the actual numbers rather than the comparables. Its also used mainly in reference to first time buyers who generally are on lower wages when they buy, but they generally increase their income faster than inflation and thus miss that their income has gone up faster than inflation