‘Repeatedly outbid': readers share stories of housing despair as Australia's prices reach record highs again
After a short reprieve, property prices have surged to record highs across large parts of Australia, making a family home even more unaffordable for prospective buyers.
One Melbourne reader, a nurse, said she felt like cattle herded from one home open to the next.
'Multiple times I went to inspections of properties I liked, only to be told on the way out that there was already an offer of $30-50k over asking and if I was interested I needed to submit a better offer within a few hours,' said the reader, who eventually secured a property.
'The market was so competitive I felt really rushed into making a decision a lot of the time.'
Auctions are heating up across the country, with six straight weeks of preliminary clearance rates holding above 70%, according to Cotality data, in a clear sign sellers are in control.
Clearance rates refer to the percentage of properties sold at auction compared with the total number of properties listed to go under the hammer, with results above 70% viewed as an indicator of strong buying demand.
Bidding is expected to become even more fierce amid expectations of further interest rate cuts and an enduring lack of supply of homes.
Property prices in Sydney, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth are at peak levels, while Melbourne, Canberra and Hobart are also rising.
A reader in Western Australia's south-west said she and her partner bought far from their family and friends in Perth 'not because we were seeking a lifestyle change but because we simply couldn't compete in the city or suburbs any more.
'We went to countless inspections and put in offer after offer, but were repeatedly outbid, ignored by real estate agents or told homes were under offer before we'd even had a chance,' the reader said.
'At the same time, we were grappling with housing instability, facing no-ground evictions and repeated rent increases.'
The couple aged in their early 30s are now so financially stretched with their new mortgage they've made the decision not to have children.
'We simply can't afford to raise a family,' the reader said.
'That's not something we ever imagined we'd have to sacrifice, but this housing crisis has forced people like us to choose between stability and the future we once hoped for.'
Many readers commented on the presence of investors bidding up prices at auctions.
Over the past five years, investors have increased their share of new home loans from 28% to 37%, according to Australian Bureau of Statistics data.
One Canberra resident said she wanted to buy a home to provide stability for her family after moving between rentals eight times in nine years.
The public servant went to two auctions where the same investor bid up prices, with his teenage son filming.
Sign up for Guardian Australia's breaking news email
'I saw the same guy at an open house for the house we purchased and gave him a filthy look of recognition,' said the reader, who was pleased the investor didn't lodge a bid for her eventual home.
A Melbourne reader said while it wasn't always possible to identify who he was bidding against, 'it was always obvious at auctions who were the first home buyers as they bowed out first'.
Most market watchers attribute the growing influence of investors to favourable tax settings, including the Howard-era decision to halve the rate of capital gains tax.
Those settings are particularly helpful to investors when many prospective first home buyers are being priced out of the market.
Australia's intense housing problem, whereby Sydney, Adelaide, Melbourne and Brisbane are all in the top 10 least affordable global cities, has a knock-on effect across society, with foster care agencies reporting a fall in the number of applicants given many people can't afford the time and don't have the spare room to be a carer.
Some readers have turned to 'rent-vesting', a strategy of renting a home to live in while buying a more affordable property elsewhere, in the hope that capital growth will pay for a future deposit.
A Sydney reader said he and his wife tried to buy a home for 15 years.
'The most frustrating thing was watching our rent, continuously being raised, go to pay someone else's mortgage,' he said.
'We had to become part of the problem to beat the system. We had to rentvest for five years to accumulate enough equity to pay for our own home.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Independent
an hour ago
- The Independent
Why the average UK house price forecast has dropped
Property firm Savills has significantly reduced its forecast for average house price growth in Britain for the current year to just 1.0 per cent, down from an earlier 4.0 per cent. Conversely, Savills has upgraded its five-year house price projection, now expecting a 24.5 per cent increase by 2029, up from 23.4 per cent. The revised short-term outlook is attributed to recent economic and geopolitical instability, alongside buyer behaviour influenced by stamp duty changes. The more optimistic long-term forecast is largely due to a more relaxed approach by mortgage lenders to affordability tests, which should support prices and sales. Savills anticipates the average house price to reach £448,600 by the end of 2029, an increase of £86,300 from mid-2025 levels, with buyer demand expected to rise by early autumn.
The Guardian
an hour ago
- The Guardian
Macquarie's famed pay packages under attack from disgruntled shareholders at AGM
Macquarie Group has been stung by a shareholder backlash against its executive pay plans amid disquiet over a string of regulatory prosecutions. Investors lodged votes against Macquarie's remuneration plans in excess of 25%, in a major rebuke of the company's famed pay packages, triggering a 'first strike' at its annual general meeting in Sydney on Thursday. A remuneration report requires a 25% opposing vote to trigger a strike, as opposed to the usual majority required for ordinary resolutions. Under rules designed to hold directors accountable for executive pay, shareholders will get a chance to spill the board next year if they deliver another strike. The Macquarie chair, Glenn Stevens, said at the AGM that a number of shareholders had expressed a view that the board had not adequately reflected 'risk shortcomings'. 'The board hears your message and will reflect carefully on addressing those concerns,' Stevens said. Sign up: AU Breaking News email In May, the chair of the Australian Securities and Investments Commission, Joe Longo, issued a stinging critique of Macquarie after announcing the fourth regulatory action against the company in just over 12 months. Longo said at the time Asic had 'ongoing and deep concerns' with Macquarie over its 'weak remediation of longstanding issues'. Asic alleged in May that Macquarie's securities business engaged in misleading conduct by misreporting millions of short sales to the market operator for more than 14 years. Short sales refer to investors taking a position on an asset they expect to fall in value. Macquarie said it had remedied those issues, implemented additional controls and was reviewing the regulator's claim. The company could not comment further on Thursday given it is a live legal matter. Macquarie is well-known for its huge pay packets, which are tightly linked to company profits. The Macquarie chief executive, Shemara Wikramanayake, earned $24m during the last 12-month reporting period, mostly consisting of bonuses, making her one of Australia's highest paid executives. While shareholders usually lodge a protest vote against executive pay when a company is performing poorly, there are times investors use it to tell the board they are unhappy about other issues. Woolworths received a remuneration strike in 2023 after shareholders over concerns with the supermarket's response to the death of two workers, one of whom was killed after being hit by pallets at a distribution centre. Sign up to Breaking News Australia Get the most important news as it breaks after newsletter promotion Macquarie also faced a climate-focused shareholder resolution calling on the company to outline how its financing for fossil fuel projects aligned with its net zero commitments. The resolution, which did not receive majority support, asked the bank to disclose its exposure to fossil fuel companies and its plans for financing them. Activists are particularly unhappy with Macquarie's support for the planned large gas fracking project in the Northern Territory's Beetaloo basin. 'The reality is that Macquarie's fossil fuel financing activity is categorically not aligned with its climate commitments,' Kyle Robertson, an analyst at the climate activist group Market Forces, told the AGM. While many financiers have climate policies, they often allow for the development of new fossil fuel reserves, rubbing against analysis showing emissions from existing fossil fuel infrastructure are more than enough to push the world beyond its climate goals. Stevens said the company's position was in line with the policies of the federal government, which allows for the expansion of gas production during the transition to renewable energy. 'That is part of the transition; Macquarie is involved in that,' Stevens said.
Daily Mail
an hour ago
- Daily Mail
Today Show slammed for out of touch advice to struggling Aussie renters
Karl Stefanovic and Today financial guru Joel Gibson have come under fire for their 'out of touch' and 'illegal' advice to Australians struggling to find a home to rent. During a segment on the rental shortage on Thursday morning, Gibson shared advice for renters who want to stand out from the hordes of other applicants at an inspection. 'It's important to treat this like a military operation, treat it like a job interview,' Gibson said. 'When you go into that first inspection, you need to make an impression on that agent. Bring a printed version of your application, dress like it's a job interview. 'You can still offer more rent or money upfront in most states at the moment. Rent bidding is becoming illegal in Victoria in November. It's illegal in Queensland.' Specifically, Gibson recommended offering to pay more than the quoted amount, or to offer two to three months of rent upfront in advance. In response to hearing the practice is illegal, or capped at a few weeks' worth of rent, Karl said, 'What about a little bit of a...' and made a 'backhander' motion to suggest making a covert payment. The segment drew widespread criticism at a time when many are struggling to find a rental, and even those who have are having difficulty paying very high rent prices. 'Two to three months up front? Sure, everyone has $5,000 they can just fire off,' one wrote. 'Treat it like a job interview? What is wrong with these people? Why not: "practice your lowest bow and curtsy",' another said. 'Who can afford three months of rent and bond in advance?' another wrote. 'Who needs a social life when you can pay to live in some random a***ole's fifth investment property?' another said. On top of Gibson's suggestion to treat rental inspections 'like a job interview', offer a higher rent or pay in advance, and pre-prepare an application - he called for prospective renters to call real estate agents within 24 hours to follow up their application and make a personal pitch. He also said hikes in average rental prices appear to be slowing this year, having reached a tipping point that made them unaffordable for many prospective tenants. 'Rents are up 43 per cent over five years, it's added $10,000 to the average rent in the last five years,' Gibson said, looking at the median price across five cities. 'But we have seen in the last quarter the lowest increase since 2020 so there maybe is a glimmer of hope that the trend is kind of coming back down. 'When you look at Sydney and Melbourne, they've actually gone up by only about 1.5 per cent in the past year, whereas other medium-sized capitals - Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide - they're the ones that are still rising quite fast at around five per cent. 'It looks like the really bad years of the last few years might be coming to an end for renters, so there is a bit of a glimmer of hope.'
