rents, page-37

"I am in my mid thirties, so I am much closer to your age than I am to the baby boomers. What I can say of my life experiences is that whilst I was studying hard, working part-time, and enjoying social occasions responsibly, most of my friends were either pissing up their week's wages against a wall, smoking or sniffing something, or spending their hard earned travelling."

I am yet to hit my thirties, having purchased my first home before completing uni thanks to the repayments being only marginally higher than my boarding costs. The thing is, I didn't buy because I thought prices would go up, it just made economic sense - I could rent out some rooms, and basically enjoy my own place for the same cost.

What is disturbing is that I am a hard worker, but the money I made on property has eclipsed the money I earnt in my day job over that time. It's quite obscene in my view. For those aligning property ownership with hard work, what exactly is hard about owning property? Easiest thing I've ever done, the only stresses have been bad tenants. What it does require is a disciplined saving regime, and that mostly depends on type of consumer you are (spending habits are far more important than what you earn).

I sold out about 18 months ago (Perth), and while it just happened to be a good decision in hindsight, I don't pretend it was skill - nobody could know the peak. I wanted out mainly as I saw little opportunity for growth, and that the capital could be better re-allocated elsewhere.

I don't think shelter and food should be at the complete mercy of the capitalist system, though that's not going to stop me from taking advantage of it where I can. Hypocritical to some, but I'm not going to be a passive observer as others reap the rewards. What I mean is I don't defend people who say property is in some cases priced out of reach for new generation, for one persons economic gain is often a loss for someone else - think about who is losing in this case. I don't see property investment resulting in a reallocation of capital to where it's most effective, which is why I'm not sure the free market model is appropriate. In some ways it encourages the more viable businesses to be located in premium areas, but when all property goes up, that argument goes out the window.