First home buyers urged to go on strike
The Age
Thursday March 31, 2011
GENERATION Y's frustration at being priced out of the housing market is spilling over into a viral internet campaign that calls for a "buyers' strike".A group called Prosper Australia has attracted thousands of pledges of support for its campaign, which asks people to sign a statement saying: "I undertake not to bid at auction or negotiate by private treaty to buy real estate until prices moderate, just as they have in all the countries we compare ourselves to."It follows reports in The Age this week showing only three of every 10 lots for sale in new housing estates across Australia were accessible to average-income first home buyers.The flood of support for the buyers' strike campaign has pushed it to the top of political activist website GetUp's campaign ideas list.Buyer advocate Catherine Chisholm said the issue touched a nerve despite prices levelling off in the past six months."The reason first home buyers aren't in the market at the moment is because they can't afford to be. They can't save a deposit and the banks don't want to lend to first home buyers," Ms Chisholm said.The latest snapshot of the market released by Victoria's Valuer-General shows prices for houses and units declined 2 per cent across the state in the September quarter. Some of the biggest falls were in upmarket suburbs such as South Yarra.Chris Richardson, of Deloitte Access Economics, said Australia's high house prices were the result of 20 years of economic growth without a recession."Are they a bubble? No. Are they at risk if good times end in Australia? Yes, they are," Mr Richardson said. But there was little likelihood of a shake-out in the market, he said.
© 2011 The Age