"We have to reduce the cost of housing first, both owning and renting. change planning laws stop allowing land banking ( tax system can be used to flood the market with cheap land)"
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Spot on. I read somewhere that the building cost of a house has only ever risen with the inflation rate, however, the cost of land has risen way above the inflation rate.
The cost of land is the key to everything as it feeds into everything including rents, wages and prices.
Only problem is that so many people have a finger in the pie that they are unwilling to give up.
Firstly the state governments with their stamp duty.Then they get to set the price of land by how much they allow to be released.
Then the councils with their rates based on land value.
Then the banks, the higher the price the bigger the loan. They also make sure that the value of their collateral never goes down.
Then lastly, all the rest of us who, no matter how many crappy punts we make on the market, know that we will be a winner with our house value.
IMO, land here in Oz, where there is so much of it yet it is so expensive, is the biggest artificial ponzi scam going.
I say tax the hell out of land, then get rid of as many other taxes as possible starting with income and company tax. Will never happen though....
