hmmm - I don't recall that most were fixed from the 70's on
but, you might be right
the 70's would certainly have scared the shit out of people about variables, that's certain
''these days mortgages are structured so that even paying large slabs off the capital doesn't get the amount owed down much at all.''
atm - the amount of years one has to earn to pay off a house is ridiculous
it is the craziest situation. And it's not just Australia --
I won't talk about France, France is different - too different to mention. But when I hear my English friends speak about their housing prices - it's the same sad story as Oz.
And when I was in Croatia - for me, the property was relatively cheap compared to Oz and UK and even France -------
but, when one saw what the Croatians earned - god help them, it was as dear as poison and relatively it was pretty crap IMO.
One thing that is worth a mention about France - but, it's different to the subject being discussed - a point
several days back, my partner and I were walking and as we went by a lovely property, I looked and said - look, there's a really lovely place.
She said, well - I'd wanted that house for years, decades, I've always loved it.
Now the place was stylish, the garden was beautiful, parklike and practical and the property - it was in what appeared to be good to very good condition.
The only downer is the traffic - which wasn't there years ago, but is now.
Anyway I said to her - I guess it must be about 4 times what the place we are in atm.
She said no, maybe about 50 or 60% more. Which I thought - na, can't be surely. The house we live in is good, good area, solid house, biggish, good sized garden but not a stunner like the one we were talking about.
But, she told me that the French just won't pay high prices, they just won't.
She gave me an example of a property that a friend of ours sold not too long back - which seems to have been a stunning property, architect designed and stylish, garden to die for, solid land size, very desirable position etc etc.
And, they couldn't sell it for what seemed to be a fairly reasonable price - dropped the price something like 40% in the end to shift it
and that sale price probably only put it about 50% above 'normal' places - the frogs - just refuse to pay.
When I see what the french won't pay for, won't have a bar of - I think of some markets in Oz
I used to go to markets in Evandale in Tasmania. They used to be free entry, then, they began charging for entry (pretty sure it was Evandale).
Well France has lots of markets ---------- if a market started charging entry in France - it would last 2 weeks max - no one would go, that would be the end of the market business or they would have to drop the entry fee.
that's France
they do the same about house prices - only where you get idiot foreigners - paris, mont Blanc, med etc --- that's different.
