Housing problems discussions.

WELCOME TO OUR GENERAL BLOG YOU ARE INVITED. Today we are reposting some of those articles, that in a way can link to our main message about housing, where we will talk about the housing problems in Australia, the Social Security System, and the ASSETS TEST that can prevent the Social Security to be equal for everyone. And I believe that the assets test is the main problem, why today there are not enough rental properties on the market. 

This article can also be found at this link,  Housing Problems Discussions. 

To read all the blogs of this selected group about rentals click on this link, http://menfranco.blogspot.com, 

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I belive that past politicians are to blame for today affordable rental problems, and they need to fix it, asap to go back to normal. 

Everybody is talking about that today in Australia is hard to find a house or unit for rent. We must say that it is hard to understand the reasons why this is happening, so, we are looking for the reasons why this is happening, and writing these discussions why this is happening. 

NOTE, ARTICLE No: 15. 

This article is the fifteenth article of a group of articles, about Australia housing problems and its cause and remedy discussions. We are reposting some articles to show you, what we believe is the cause of the rental shortage in Australia. You see, the Australian Social Security System fails to help the farmers, because of the assets test, and fails and punishes the small rental investors, because of the ASSETS TEST, that is the only reason I can see, why today there are not enough rental properties on the market. So, to solve the housing problem, the politicians need to abolish or reset the ASSETS TEST at least to the same level or below, what people can lose from their pensions or other benefits. Also, to solve the housing problem, the politicians must find grounds to work together with the private sector, and definitely not against the private sector. But today, from what they are doing, they seem to say that the private sector is their enemy, when the private sector is only running a rental service to the community. 

Welcome to our article, Housing Problems Discussions. 

Dear readers, as I have said, I have been writing several articles about this rental crisis in Australia, and I have suggested a few things, but I do not know if what I am doing is helping, because there is no feedback, all I know is some people read them.  

Anyhow, I will continue to write more articles, at least I know I have done my best to help solve the situation, because it is only through people views and discussion that most problems are solved. In this article we will review what we have said and talk about what we see happening.

One of the things that is worrying me is that there are properties that end up in the wrong hands, one of which is foreign ownership. Look what I found in the net, (and I quote).

The daily mail 20 July 2023

How Chinese buyers are snapping up Australian properties at the rate of $6million a day.

Story by Stephen Johnson, Economics Reporter For Daily Mail Australia • Yesterday 1:49 pm

• Chinese spend $2.4billion a year on Australian property 
• Australia top choice for Chinese real estate buyers

Chinese buyers are snapping up real estate spending more than $6million a day, with Australia an even more popular market than Canada, the United Kingdom or the U.S.

New Treasury figures show the Chinese spent $2.4billion on Australian residential real estate in 2021-22, with investment surging in the following financial year. (Shortened article)

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On another article.

Chinese buyers return and cause tension at auctions across Australia as they outbid locals, says real estate expert. Here's why they are buying up homes down under

Story by Olivia Day For Daily Mail Australia.

• Auctioneer said Chinese investors are back on property scene
• He said local buyers felt 'resentment' towards Chinese buyers
• Chinese buyers spending up to $8million on Aussie real estate 

A top auctioneer says Chinese buyers have returned to Australia's property market and are causing tension at auctions as they outbid locals.

And then.

One Nation Leader Pauline has raised concerns about the impact migration and foreign investors have on Australia, saying it’s hard for Australians to “buy their own home”. 

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Now let me tell you about my views on this foreign ownership. I believe that Australia does not need them, because what they do is drive the price of real estate up. They also do not seem to care if their rental properties are vacant. So, they are here because they have too much cash in their country, and they want to transfer it to Australia to keep it safe and avoid taxes. In this case it would be good if the Australian government taxes them, with a tax that applies to foreign ownership, at least they could recuperate some of the damage they are doing to the economy.

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Other things affecting rentals. 

We have talked about the Chinese investors, that buy rental properties for their own benefit, but there are many other things that need to be assessed, like what is being done to fix the rental problem, and is it the right thing to do, so, let us see what is happening, and report what we find here. (And I quote)  

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Greens Senator Janet Rice says the government is only going to provide a “tiny drop in the bucket” by building only 30,000 homes in the next five years.

“We want to see an outcome,” Ms Rice told Sky News Australia.

“We’ve got 750,000 people on public and affordable housing waiting lists around the country.

“What the government’s proposing is only going to provide 30,000 houses over the next five years – tiny drop in the bucket of what’s required.” (End of quote)

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My reaction to that is. Okay Senator Janet Rice, we agree with you 100% that what they are going to build is not enough to solve the rental problem, but your party is making it harder even to do that, and with you scare tactics you are making it even worse, look at what else is happening. (And I quote)

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• Aussie investors 'over it' as they bow out of the property market
• Queensland sales of investor-owned property have ballooned

Property investors in one state are 'over it' as they bow out of the market in droves amid rising interest rates and higher land taxes.

Sales of Queensland investor-owned property increased to almost a third of all homes sold in June, according to PropTrack research. 

It comes as owners across Australia face skyrocketing property taxes and rental price cap speculation - adding pressure to their high mortgage repayments.

Sales of owner-investor properties in Queensland grew by eight per cent in just one month - up to 29.5 per cent of all house sales, higher than other state.  (End of quote).

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I must say that, after seeing what is happening in the rental market, as I have reported above, I believe that things are getting worse. And the Greens party is making it hard to fix, with their short sightedness, they want only to help the have not, even if they make the small investors become have not, with their unworkable policies, because the small investors most time are worse off financially than the have not, even if they own properties.    

Anyhow, my view is that to solve this problem, all Australian sectors must try to work together, we do not need foreign ownership to control the Australian rental market, and the politicians must make sure that that does not happen.

So, it would be wiser to try to reconcile the differences and keep the rental market as it has been in the past, in   if it has worked for a very long time in the past, and it will continue to work in the future. Here I must add that, if the politicians want affordable rentals for the homeless at affordable cost, they must make sure that the landlords, can run their properties at an affordable cost, that guarantees some earning at the end, nobody can run properties at a loss. Therefore, they must not charge levies that the landlords find hard to pay. I hope I have explained myself clear enough.

I could say many other things, but I believe that this article is becoming too long for today readers, so, see you next time. 

To see more click on this link,  Housing Problems Discussions.  

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 NOTE. This article above, is the link to the following article, (still to decide the name). This article is also the fifteenth article of a group of articles that we want to publish. The aim of these articles is to show you that, the Australian governments can fix these existing problems, if they run a better Social Security System that fails to help those that need their help. And we believe that it must be equal for everyone. The greatest problem is created by the assets test anomalies, so, the ASSETS TEST must be abolished or adjusted, so that those anomalies are eliminated.  Because it is not fair to the pensioners, and this is one of the reasons why, there are not enough rental properties on the market, since the pensioners, are forced to sell out to receive their pension. Anyhow, here the greatest problem is the politicians that do not want to see it that way, and they make laws that would stop anybody to invest in rental properties, when they need the private sector to invest in the rental market, so, the politicians need to make laws that helps the private sector invest in rental properties. So, let me explain.  

For me there are three main things that the government can do, to come out of this rental crisis: give more rent assistance to the low income earners, abolish the assets test on affordable rental properties and low other levies, so that the small investors can keep renting at affordable price, and stop foreign ownership on rental properties, that is pushing real estate prices up, and the rental market must follow to go up, because the properties cost more. 

Some politician believe that the government should build, affordable rental units to solve this rental crisis, but for the government, to build an infinite number of affordable rental units, is not practical, because it will cost the tax payers several times more than helping the present rental set up, as we have suggested above.  

To read all the blogs of this selected group click on this link, http://menfranco.blogspot.com,

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Housing problems causes 3

WELCOME TO OUR GENERAL BLOG YOU ARE INVITED. Today we are reposting some of those articles, that in a way can link to our main message about housing, where we will talk about the housing problems in Australia, the Social Security System, and the ASSETS TEST that can prevent the Social Security to be equal for everyone. And I believe that the assets test is the main problem, why today there are not enough rental properties on the market. 

This article can also be found at this link,  Housing Problems causes in Australia.

To read all the blogs of this selected group about rentals click on this link, http://menfranco.blogspot.com, 

-----------------

I belive that past politicians are to blame for today affordable rental problems, and they need to fix it, asap to go back to normal. 

What is shown in this photo is a typical block of units in Brisbane suburbs, I believe that today we need more blocks of units like these to satisfy the rental market. These units are self contained, and can be owner occupaed or for rent. Blocks of units like these are run from a Bodycorporate, tyhat charge a levy to each owner for the property in common. The owners must also pay the council rates, the urban utility levy, and other levies, so, they cost a lot to run. 

NOTE, ARTICLE No: 14. 

This article is the fourteenth article of a group of articles, about Australia housing problems and its cause and remedy discussions. We are reposting some articles to show you, what we believe is the cause of the rental shortage in Australia. You see, the Australian Social Security System fails to help the farmers, because of the assets test, and fails and punishes the small rental investors, because of the ASSETS TEST, that is the only reason I can see, why today there are not enough rental properties on the market. So, to solve the housing problem, the politicians need to abolish or reset the ASSETS TEST at least to the same level or below, what people can lose from their pensions or other benefits. Also, to solve the housing problem, the politicians must find grounds to work together with the private sector, and definitely not against the private sector. But today, from what they are doing, they seem to say that the private sector is their enemy, when the private sector is only running a rental service to the community. 

Welcome to our article, Housing Problems causes in Australia. 

Dear readers, as I have said before, I want to inform you that I have followed the rental market for a long time, and I have written several articles about it, pointing out what I think can help to solve the rental problem. I have done that, hoping that someone in power takes notes of what I am saying, and does something about it, but so far nothing has happened. Anyhow, I believe that the main problem is that the Australian Social Security System must be equal for everyone, but it discriminates against the small investors, to fix it they can start by abolishing the ASSETS TEST that keeps off the small investors that could have a property for rent. Anyhow, I will continue to write more rental articles, hoping that something positive happens, so, let me go on writing.  

So, let me make a short list of the most important things that in my view need to be done, to fix the rental problems that exist today. Now what I am going to say next is not what the people in power want to hear, because I believe that they are the people that have caused it, because of their greed, they are charging very high levies, and then hide behind the landlords, saying that it is the landlord greed that is causing this rental shortage, but it is not, because most of the landlords of affordable rental properties, are family people that have one or two properties for rent, the rich people keep away from rental properties, they cannot be involved, because they are hard to run, and cause too many problems, so, for them it is a waste of time.

Anyhow to make this brief I must say, I have found two things that hurt the rental market most. The first one is the land tax, that sometimes is so high that it is not worth to have rental properties, the second one is the ASSETS TEST, that in some cases can be even worse than the land tax, because it cuts off the small property owners to receive the government pension, and it also stops the disabled, the jobseekers and others to receive help from the government. So, hereunder I am going to describe step by step, how the ASSETS TEST affects the property owners in a negative way.

The land tax and the assets test problem.

Now to explain how the land tax and the assets test affects the small investors in a negative way, I am going to write an example. To make it easier to understand, the example that I am writing will be exaggerated a bit, so that it is easier to understand the message I want to convey. So, let me start to write this imaginary situation.

Mr and Mrs Lee have worked hard all their lives, they saved as much as they could, and have invested their saving, on two houses, and both the houses are on two large blocks of residential land, and the land value is over one million dollars each. They may be able to avoid the land tax for the house they live in, but they must pay the land tax on the rental property that could be around $6000.00 each year, just because they owned that house and land on the 30^th of June.

Now Mr and Mrs Lee are retiring, so, they would like to apply for the Age Pension from the government, because they do not have much money, since they have spent most of their money on these two properties. but it is very unlikely that they will qualify, because of the assets test. So, let us try to work out if they can receive any pension from the government. But they cannot because they have over one million assets. So, the assets test cuts them off, because the maximum they can have for part pension is $986,500. So, they cannot have any pension, and they must live with what rent income is left, after paying all expenses, which is not enough.

Now let us work out how much money is left from their rental property.

They are renting the house at $600.00 per week, which in a year is about $31,200. Now from this money they must pay all the rental property expenses. So, let us see how much they expenses can be.

In Mr. and Mrs Lee case  

 Land tax $6000.00    

Council Rates charges $3000.00   

Urban Utilities $1800.00

Insurance $1500.00

Maintenance $1000.00 or more

Real estate charges to rent property. Over $2000.00

Now let us add them up. 6000+3000+1800+1500+1000+2000=$15,300.

So, the expenses are nearly 50% of the rent.

And Mr and Mrs Lee, only earn about one per cent of the value of rental property net.

If they did not have this house for rent, they would have received the full pension, which today is:

•  Couple (each): $802.00 per fortnight (approximately $20,852 per year)
• Couple (combined): $1,604.00 per fortnight (approximately $41,704 per year)

From the imaginary example of Mr Lee property, we can say that this is one of the reasons why there are not enough rental properties in Australia, but there is more to talk about, one of which is the foreign ownership, see below.

 

What other problems we have in rentals.

Then there is the problem of foreign ownership. See what I found on the internet.

New Treasury figures show the Chinese spent $2.4billion on Australian residential real estate in 2021-22, with investment surging in the following financial year. (Shortened article)

But we will talk about that in our next article.

So, if the government want the rental market to be self-sufficient, they must abolish the assets test on affordable rental properties, owned by Australians and permanent residents of Australia, or they can set the assets test at minus one dollar per thousand instead of minus three dollars per thousand a fortnight. So that some people may still want to own a rental property, because the way it is now, people are losing money, if they own a rental property and are on a government pension.  

There are more issues that influence the rental market to talk about, but this article is becoming too long, So, see you in our next article, where we are going to talk about the foreign ownership and Australian politics, in, Housing Problems Discussions. 

To see more click on this link, Housing Problems causes in Australia. 

See you next time. 

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 NOTE. This article above, is the link to the following article, Housing problems discussions. This article is also the fourteenth article of a group of articles that we want to publish. The aim of these articles is to show you that, the Australian governments can fix these existing problems, if they run a better Social Security System that fails to help those that need their help. And we believe that it must be equal for everyone. The greatest problem is created by the assets test anomalies, so, the ASSETS TEST must be abolished or adjusted, so that those anomalies are eliminated.  Because it is not fair to the pensioners, and this is one of the reasons why, there are not enough rental properties on the market, since the pensioners, are forced to sell out to receive their pension. Anyhow, here the greatest problem is the politicians that do not want to see it that way, and they make laws that would stop anybody to invest in rental properties, when they need the private sector to invest in the rental market, so, the politicians need to make laws that helps the private sector invest in rental properties. So, let me explain.  

For me there are three main things that the government can do, to come out of this rental crisis: give more rent assistance to the low income earners, abolish the assets test on affordable rental properties and low other levies, so that the small investors can keep renting at affordable price, and stop foreign ownership on rental properties, that is pushing real estate prices up, and the rental market must follow to go up, because the properties cost more. 

Some politician believe that the government should build, affordable rental units to solve this rental crisis, but for the government, to build an infinite number of affordable rental units, is not practical, because it will cost the tax payers several times more than helping the present rental set up, as we have suggested above.  

To read all the blogs of this selected group click on this link, http://menfranco.blogspot.com,

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Australia housing problems, 2

WELCOME TO OUR GENERAL BLOG YOU ARE INVITED. Today we are reposting some of those articles, that in a way can link to our main message about housing, where we will talk about the housing problems in Australia, the Social Security System, and the ASSETS TEST that can prevent the Social Security to be equal for everyone. And I believe that the assets test is the main problem, why today there are not enough rental properties on the market. 

This article can also be found at this link,  Australia Housing Problems, Two.

To read all the blogs of this selected group about rentals click on this link, http://menfranco.blogspot.com, 

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I belive that past politicians are to blame for today affordable rental problems, and they need to fix it, to go back to normal. 

Talking about the rental market, they say that there are not enough rental houses in Australia, and for this reason the rent is going up. Okay, there are not enough houses for rent, but wehat is the reason. The renters and the government want us to believe that it is the landlord fault, so, they try to blame the landlords, when is the government greediness that charges high levies on the property, so, the landlords cannot afford to own and have more properties for rent. 

NOTE, ARTICLE No: 13. 

This article is the thirteenth article of a group of articles, about Australia housing problems and its cause and remedy discussions. We are reposting some articles to show you, what we believe is the cause of the rental shortage in Australia. You see, the Australian Social Security System fails to help the farmers, because of the assets test, and fails and punishes the small rental investors, because of the ASSETS TEST, that is the only reason I can see, why today there are not enough rental properties on the market. So, to solve the housing problem, the politicians need to abolish or reset the ASSETS TEST at least to the same level or below, what people can lose from their pensions or other benefits. Also, to solve the housing problem, the politicians must find grounds to work together with the private sector, and definitely not against the private sector. But today, from what they are doing, they seem to say that the private sector is their enemy, when the private sector is only running a rental service to the community. 

Welcome to our article, Australia Housing Problems, Two. 

Dear readers, as I have said before, I want to inform you that I have followed the rental market for a long time, and I have written several articles about it, pointing out what I think can help to solve the problem. I have done that, hoping that someone in power takes notes of what I am saying, and does something about it, but so far nothing has happened. Anyhow, I believe that there is not enough money in renting a property, because of the many charges the government imposes on the properties. The other problem is that the Australian Social Security System descriminates rental owners and cuts their pensions more than what they can earn from their rental property. Anyhow, I believe that the Social Security System must be equal for everyone, but it discriminates against the small investors away, to fix it they can start by abolishing the ASSETS TEST that keeps off the small investors that could have a property for rent. Anyhow, I will continue to write more rental articles, hoping that something positive happens, so, let me go on writing.   

Today I want to point out that one of the reasons why rents are high, it is because any type of housing costs a lot to build, therefore, when they are new they cost a lot to rent. But what about the older houses. Here I must say that existing houses and units cost a lot more than they should, perhaps the real estate agents are trying too hard to push the price up, and one day the prices may come down, or they may stop going up for a few years. So, those buyers that want to buy at all costs, better beware, because this can be coming sooner than you think.  

Anyhow, there are not enough houses being bult, and I wonder why they cannot be built and sold any cheaper. In the past whenever there was a shortage and the price of housing went up, they soon built more houses, and the price would return to normal. But today this is not happening, some people say that there are not enough tradesmen to build new houses, and not enough young people that want to be tradies and work on buildings. Anyhow, this is only one of the reasons, because there are many other reasons, why there are not enough rental properties on the market.

I believe that the reason why there are not enough properties, it is because the mum and dads, that are the greatest number of small investors, have been placed in a disadvantaged position and losing money, and at the same time they are being discriminated, as if it is their fault. When it is the fault of the government authorities that charge high levies, on affordable rental properties. Anyhow, once these small investors realize that they are overcharged and discriminated, they will stop investing in rental properties, and they might even sell them, because they are losing money. And this is another reason why there are not enough rental properties.

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Which charges and by-laws affect the rental market most.  

So, let us talk about which charges and by laws affect the rental market most in a negative way; and that is the reason why, it is not easy to fix, unless these laws are modified. I believe that there are at least two things that must be changed, for the rental market to be able to go back to normal, and this must be done soon. One is the assets test, and the other thing that hurts most is the land tax, that give the landlords nothing at all, but charge lots of money, just because you own a property, most of these properties are rental properties, therefore, the owners must charge more rent to pay for the lant tax.

Anyhow, we are continuing to study the Australian rental situation, but it is becoming clear that the rental market cannot go back to normal, because of these laws that charge lots of money, and put pressure on the landlords, who cannot do anything except charge more rent to pay for those levies.

So, this rental problem cannot be solved, unless the present governments change these negative laws, and makes the rental market cheaper to run, and it needs also to change or abolish the ASSETS TEST on affordable rental properties. So that those people that are on the rental market, like the pensioners, the disabled people, the jobseekers, and other people that during their lives need government help. When they apply for help, they cannot have it, because the assets test disqualifies them, even when they cannot earn money, from their rental properties. So, they may be forced to sell, and another rental property disappears from the rental market.

Now, I know that you start hating me, because you think that it is not possible that people that own properties need government help, but they do. You see the small investors, that have only a property for rent and no other income or funds, they need the government pension to survive, and this can be a real problem, because of the assets test, that discriminates against the property owners.  

Anyhow, to understand what I am saying, you must imagine what is really happening in the rental market, because there is not enough money left, after the owner pays the levies on that property, and they may earn only one or two per cent of the value of the property, and most of them may decide to sell the property. So, we can say that this is the reasons, why today there are less properties for rent.

You see, the ASSETS TEST, is set in a way that pretends that the owners can earn about 8% of the property value, when in most case they can earn only 2% of the property value, or even less. So, if they want more rental properties on the market, the government must abolish the ASSETS TEST on affordable rental properties.

Here I know that most of you are not convinced about this, so, I need to write a few examples, and step by step explain how I have reached this conclusion, but this blog is becoming too long. So, I will write another blog or two if necessary to explain what I am saying. Meanwhile remember that the government Social Security System must be equal for everybody, but it is not equal, and this is causing problems. 

Anyhow, we will continue with our next article, Housing Problems causes in Australia.

To see more click on this link, Australia Housing Problems, Two.

See you next time. 

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 NOTE. This article above, is the link to the following article, Australia housing problems two. This article is also the thirteenth article of a group of articles that we want to publish. The aim of these articles is to show you that, the Australian governments can fix these existing problems, if they run a better Social Security System that fails to help those that need their help. And we believe that it must be equal for everyone. The greatest problem is created by the assets test anomalies, so, the ASSETS TEST must be abolished or adjusted, so that those anomalies are eliminated.  Because it is not fair to the pensioners, and this is one of the reasons why, there are not enough rental properties on the market, since the pensioners, are forced to sell out to receive their pension. Anyhow, here the greatest problem is the politicians that do not want to see it that way, and they make laws that would stop anybody to invest in rental properties, when they need the private sector to invest in the rental market, so, the politicians need to make laws that helps the private sector invest in rental properties. So, let me explain.  

For me there are three main things that the government can do, to come out of this rental crisis: give more rent assistance to the low income earners, abolish the assets test on affordable rental properties and low other levies, so that the small investors can keep renting at affordable price, and stop foreign ownership on rental properties, that is pushing real estate prices up, and the rental market must follow to go up, because the properties cost more. 

Some politician believe that the government should build, affordable rental units to solve this rental crisis, but for the government, to build an infinite number of affordable rental units, is not practical, because it will cost the tax payers several times more than helping the present rental set up, as we have suggested above.  

To read all the blogs of this selected group click on this link, http://menfranco.blogspot.com,

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