Steven Keen is back - so everything is going to be okay

You are distorting stats by using 2x individualistatewide average income levels and comparing it to Western Sydney entry level properties.
The 165k household imcome would put them in roughly the top 25% of the roighly 10m household incomes in the entire country. Now let's be generous and say 40% are in Sydney, so 1m. Of these, relevant to your post, let's say one third are the first home/entry level buyers, although i suspect the number is significantly smaller than that. Anyway, that means 333k but logically i suspect the number of firdt home buyers in this income category is likely to be as low as 100k


So basically, your argument that homes are affordable in Sydney is based on 100k- 333k out of a city of 2 million households being able to afford a house or unit in western sydney? So it's affordable for a tiny sliver of first home buyers, what about the rest?

That's not only a misleading manipulation of data it also applies to such a small % of the population that it ignores the rest.

Feel free to check the above figures, im happy to amend if wrong but using 165k, which would put them as earning more than 80% of all households, as a way to justify general affordability, is not something that should be left unchallenged as it's simply not an accurate representation of the overall situation

 

Again , under 4x income based on an entirely made up figure of 165k you're using

We live in the information age, it's really not hard to check these figures considering there was a nationwide census done in 2016 and income levels can be easily checked and cross referenced

Just for clarification, apart from Sydney where i do believe things have gone a bit too far price wise, i generally hold the belief that the trade off in terms of housing affordability and other lifestyle and work benefirs nowadays is superior to back in the day and that a lack of nuance and perspective is often frustrating to see.

That being said, the only way to have productive meaningful discussion.on such an important issue is to be accurate and not to frame rare examples that fit a narrative as if they are commonplace

 

No probs - quick google tells me the average household income for Sydney is $103,000 ... Household median incomes 2017-18 ... understanding that there will always be people who earn less and there will always be people who rent their entire lives.

Not everyone will be able to afford to buy - never has and never will and is not a right

So, taking the example I used earlier:

10/56 Park Avenue, Kingswood, NSW 2747

Fully reno'd 2/1/1 for $299k 5 minutes walk to the train station. 3x average household income. Why would this not make a good starter?

Most certainly not 333km from Sydney ... although I would probably start with something not reno'd and make myself some sweat equity

 

Hey Lizzie,

Are you from Sydney?
Are you familiar with Kingswood?

If the average household income can only afford an apartment in Kingswood, upward mobility has come to a grinding halt. It's now rise of the downward mobile.

I own several properties in the area. Not a jab to the area at all.

$550-600k is more realistic to what a first home buyer in Sydney is after. Average run of the mill unit in an average rub of the mill suburb.

And these first homebuyers are unlikely on the median household income.

 

Kogan!
The plan is $400 per year
Often they have 40% off sales
However recently they've been doing buy one get one free, which is where I got mine

Also check out lebara they've got a special right now
$16 per month for 20gb for only 6 months plus unlimited international calls

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Nope - but the whole purpose of this exercise is to show that it's possible to own ... not to indulge aspirations to own more than you can afford

 

yep, kogan is certainly cheap,
no more contracts for me, I havent been on one for at least 15 yrs

 

Is this 3g or 4g?

 

From their website:
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Sorry, i was asking about lebara?

 

They use 4G Vodafone.

 

I'm on the fence about whether wanting a bigger house when you have kids Is a luxury or not.
I mean kids sizes (for arguments sake) haven't changed size, nor their wants for a big backyard

2 young kids in an apartment I think is a bit tough. But that being said in Asian countries it's damn normal