I've threatened to do this in the past, and I've finally broken down and created a blog. A place I can brain dump when I need to, or laud my latest thermomix efforts or whatever.
So why today? What spurred me to actually create my blog today? Two things, it is bloody cold and I'm waiting for the electric blanket to heat up my bed and a discussion today at work about the housing market in Australia.
The electric blanket should be self explanatory, so let's just jump right into the housing market. Having been back downunder for just over a year I am constantly looking at the housing ads, as like all Aussies brought up in this country I was taught to believe that renting is bad and I should own my own abode (and possibly a second one to rent out). Luckily logic now guides my actions, not these ideas from my childhood, but even I sometimes swoon over a house, and I am becoming immune to the sticker shock of half a million dollars for an average 4 bedroom house in the suburbs until I look at the mortgage calculator and gasp in shock at just what the repayment per month would be at the current interest rate. Let's not even look at 10% or, gasp, 17% as it was in the early 90's.
The cost of housing has increased so much since I left in 1995, and there seems to be this belief that the appreciation of property at roughly doubling every 8 years is sustainable. I think not. Having had the break from living here that I've had I now look around and what I see is pretty troubling. 20 to 30 years ago having 2 incomes in the household was a luxury that allowed some families to buy a lot of home for their money. Now I look around and 2 incomes is absolutely the minimum needed these days for a family to get into a home, and that isn't a luxury home either, that is a handyman's special. I personally think that the cost of housing is approaching the point where a two income family wont be able to make the repayments. All the potential increase in house prices has finally absorbed the additional income of the second income. Throw in a couple of children and daycare and that is pretty much breaking point. All for the sake of owning a home. The only income potential left now is to put the kids to work, either down a mine or serving fries and a coke. I guess there is always the potential for getting grandma and/or grandpa to move in and use their pension money, but then where is the paddle when they are no longer around?
I believe that there are more factors at play here than just two income families going head to head over a choice home in a desirable suburb, but the rant stops here. This is the kind of stuff I think about, this and cute fluffy, chubby puppies.
