Thanks gse1963. BigGambler, My previous landlord died and the place had to be sold. Before that landlord wanted to renovate it to increase rental income. Hardly fair considering that they owned it outright for the last 20 years but thats their right I suppose. The place before that owner had separated from their partner and wanted to move back in.
Fun moving times all round. Add to that having to deal with real estate agents, who as a renter treat you like a second class citizen. I had a front door where the lock which was broken was unable to lock the place for 3 days because they needed owner approval to fix the repair. When i said I would get a locksmith to replace it they said that I would not be reimbursed because it was not approved. Mind you this was the same agency which also tried to withhold my entire bond for no reason at all. They didnt specify a reason and every time I called the office everyone was "in a meeting". I finally wrote an email and was told (via email) that I had "no chance in court". They wouldn't even tell me what was wrong!!! It went to tribunal they found the agents email very amusing and ordered a full refund. Happy to never deal with a real estate agency again. I'm sure they are not all bad but my experiences have been shocking. These experiences were enough for me to take the step of buying my own place.
I dont know what to believe about the increasing population/housing shortage. Im sitting on the fence here but I do know that other countries were reporting similar things before their property dropped.
I think a 50% crash is a bit of a pipe dream damien83 but Im not ruling out 10-20%.
