the SMH backs me up...

From the SMH today

Investor loans to buy established homes rose 9.9 per cent, whereas loans for the construction of new rental properties fell 2.6 per cent, down 30 per cent over the past year.

A spokesman for Australian Property Monitors, Michael McNamara, said wealthy baby boomers nearing retirement were once again considering property as an investment strategy.

"It doesn't surprise us that many people are looking at property given that gross rental yields are rising and vacancy rates are so low," Mr McNamara said.

But a younger generation of first home buyers continues to struggle. The proportion of loans going to first home buyers fell to 17.5 per cent, below the long-term average of 20 per cent.

"If you have a look at gen X and gen Y, much of that generation has already stretched themselves quite significantly and in an environment in which there is much speculation about interest rate rises on the horizon," Mr McNamara said. "… The interest in investment properties would … mostly be coming from baby boomers."

bit of a rant

So.

Last night, Adam and I were going to meet up and see Sunshine at the Hurstville cinemas, house-sitting for my parents as we are. I thought I would take the opportunity to drop in on the Teggs, as I haven't seen them in far too long. A couple of glasses of wine later, Bron, Mike, Lutters, and Adam and I were all planning on seeing the 7pm session.

I can hear you're on tenterhooks. What happened? Well the film was great, but more on that later.

What happened was that at about 6.40 I got a call from Dominic (some minion from our real estate agents) with the somewhat upsetting news that our property is going to be put on the market. Just as we were starting to feel like it was permanent. Perhaps some of you reading are unaware of how many times Adam and I have moved house - 6 times in 6 years. Not because we're crappy tenants, and have been kicked out, but because either the house or the agents have been really awful. The one exception to that was the last place we were leasing, which was great, but then Warren got his job in Canberra and we couldn't carry the rent of his room as well.

Anyway. I was reassured to hear that Dominic thinks the chances of it being bought by another investor are very high, and that if this is what happens they will want tenants in the house anyway. Couple of problems here, however:

1. The Obvious (which fills me with dread) - The house is bought by an owner/occupier, and Adam and I (and Vanessa) have to move AGAIN, in a rental market that is even more vicious and cutthroat than it was last year when we were househunting. We spent 3 months looking, and 2 months staying with friends as we had no house to live in. No silver lining to this stormcloud of a possibility.

2. The Less Obvious - the house is bought by an investor who decides (quite rightly) to renovate, since the house is in a pretty appalling state of repair, especially the bathroom and backgarden. In which case we would have to find somewhere else to live while this was happening, and then no doubt we would move back in and The Bastards would start charging us exorbitant rent due to the improvements. This is not as bad as 1., just monumentally inconvenient.

3. Global Problem regardless of option - the fact that for the next GodKnowsHowLong we will have the great unwashed tramping through our house twice a week on inspections. This is not ideal. It's not relaxing, there's the fact you have to keep the house pretty much spotless, plus the fact that there's a chance stuff could be nicked. Dominic told me it's their policy to accompany all people on inspections of tenanted property (I should bloody well hope so), but I am still not comfortable with the idea. Even if nothing happened, which is very likely, it just doesn't feel like your house when it's filled with strangers, on top of the damoclesian dread that amongst them will be a nice young couple looking for a place to live.

Damn their eyes.

The ranty part of this? Well I think I have been pretty contained so far. But Adam and I were discussing it last night. All these things come together in one huge outpouring of venom for the baby boomer generation. Why? I'll tell you why...

The reason (I think) that the current rental market is so awful, in spite of the huge boom in developments, is because people of that generation bought heaps of property. Prices to buy and to rent have shot up in the last 2 years especially, because everyone's competing against everyone else in the market... the only people who seem to walk away scot free are the real estate agents. People of the younger generation have a couple of pre-fabricated black marks against them, none of which they can help. They are (often) carrying round a large debt in the form of HECS, or whatever prettier sounding name the government in its ineffable wisdom has decided to call it. My own HECS debt is something like 21 000. Not something to be sneezed at. My income, first year out of uni, is pretty good comparatively speaking, but there is no way I will be able to get a home loan until I'm on half as much again. Which is not going to happen for some time.

It's the selfishness and complacency of the baby boomers that pisses me off so much. As individuals, many are lovely, but collectively they have fucked up the planet and society in so many ways. The generation that got educated for free, charging us fees to get an education - when highly educated people are so valuable to the economy and should be supported as much as possible, it's getting harder and harder for less wealthy people to access tertiary institutions. That generation has also had the brainchild of WorkChoices, an hilariously inappropriate name for something that gives businesses all the power over employees. That same government has refused to ratify the Kyoto Protocol, and lobbied for an increase in the amount of emissions Australia was to be allowed to make in the coming years. This is the country, need I remind you, WITH THE GIGANTIC HOLE IN THE OZONE LAYER DIRECTLY ABOVE IT. That same government went to war with its ally, America, in Iraq, with no end in sight to that conflict. The wealthiest baby boomers pay the fewest taxes compared to income, and yet they get the most benefit and ease of living out of the country.

Is it just me, or is there a whole generation of say 18-28 year olds champing at the bit to take over, to start fixing the problems of the world? People with degrees, working in bookstores or as cash in hand tutors, because those degrees seem to count for less and less. People who are looking at another 10 or 20 years of renting before they own a house - not an investment property, but a home that they can live in.

Personally, I would love to get a home loan, but as I said my income is just too paltry. I would love to buy an older terrace house in the inner west, to renovate it, to install solar cells on the roof and have a water tank. To use recycled materials and environmentally friendly paints, to make the best use of the location in terms of natural light and rainfall. It's such a tangible dream to me, I can see how well it would work.

In the wake of the bad news about our house, I had a scout around on domain.com. I found several houses in the inner west (for sale - none for rent below 400 pw) that looked like they needed a bit of fixing up to be live-able, but potentially okay. One, mind you, was about 2.8 metres wide - that's less than twice my height. Not much. Anwyay. These houses were all above 460 000, mind you. I say 'all', I mean the 2 houses that my search criteria returned to me.

2. 2 houses.

I extended my search criteria. I found one house for 530 000. In the listing... no, you have to be relaxed to hear this. It will have much more of an impact. Take off your shoes. Now lean back in your chair with your hands behind you head, and think about something pleasant.

Good. Now keep reading.

The house - I'll remind you that it was listed as 530 000 - was billed as "an excellent first home".

I'm sorry? First home for who, exactly?

That's more than half a million dollars, for a "first home".

HALF A MILLION DOLLARS.

Okay. Rant temporarily suspended.

~

*remove cobwebs*

so. it's been AGES. things have been busy busy busy.

i have now been working at the Lab for a year - a whole year - and it really doesn't seem that long. strange how these things go, and how you get used to working and thinking in patterns. i've become quite good at it, and was on the ABC's Catalyst last week in a short piece they did on the work we do here. big silver earrings and strong determined voice at odds with my somewhat small stature :P

went to the states in january - NY, then LA and SF, which was great. when i feel like i have energy i will write more about it, but some of my pics can be viewed here.

what else? um... writing lots, good stuff, too, and getting slowly back into the artistic thing after nearly a year of being out. my office is a huge mess, but what can you do. home is slightly more tidy. cats are good. i am full of news but with no way of ordering the information. suffice to say the last couple of months have been a bit of a whirlwind - travel, back surgery, home truths, crushing (and uplifting) realisations about a few things, physical and emotional turmoil. but i'm sure it's all on track now.

my friends are putting on a show in melbourne called Strangelove: The Musical and Ads et al are possibly taking Blank! on the road to Brisbane - will be cool. My big sis is coming down for my birthday, and my mum is buying me a sewing machine - hurray hurray, kahloo kahlay!

other things. stuff. blah.