Buy now or wait?
(PART TWO)
With the mining boom over, property is the biggest game in town and vested interests are rife,
… the Federal Govt (want to dodge the ‘housing affordability’ political hot potato)
… the funders (want new buyers who need funding and existing buyers with funding to pay on time)
… owners (want to protect the value of their houses)
… first home buyers (want houses that they can afford)
… building industry (want to keep building houses)
… media interests (want to keep the story going)
“See a pattern?”
Apart from possibly some media interests, very few of us would really want the housing market to collapse – collectively we have too much to lose as a nation.
But some of us may have a vested interest in talking down the market.
I mean, if housing prices have peaked then housing affordability shouldn’t get worse, right? So, no need then to talk about structural reforms like the Capital Gains Tax reform… after all, as we’ve now learnt from our nation’s leaders Australian housing prices – uniquely to market theory – are only driven by a lack of supply. Demand from investors has nothing to do with, or if it does, its foreign investors (who also don’t vote) who are the cause of any demand side issues.
So, back to our original question: should I buy later, and when is that later?
“My conclusion?”
I don’t know anyone who has a 100% track record of predicting the housing market and who I trust not to have a vested interest, so I will buy based on my affordability rather than on second guessing the market that not even the most respected experts are certain of.
