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My new paper restates and brings together some key points in the Australian housing debate. 1/7
Peter Tulip
14.5K posts
Peter Tulip
@peter_tulip
Chief Economist at Centre for Independent Studies. Ex-RBA, ex-Fed.
Joined May 2019
- It seems timely to repost one of my favourite tables: cdc.gov/vaccines/imz-m…
- Wrong! 0.10 is the "cash rate target". The correct answer, as per RBA Table F1 is 6 basis points. If you are going to pedantically correct others then get the answer right.Labor leader Anthony Albanese has now refused twice to state the RBA cash rate for interest rates. Yes it’s a “gotcha” question. However, he should know it.
- The government and many commentators are misdiagnosing the problem. Rapid Antigen Tests provide a positive externality. If you test positive and then isolate, you reduce the risk of infecting others. The beneficiary (society) should pay.
- A map of Sydney showing top country of birth by suburb, excluding Australia. The clustering is striking. People like living near others of the same ethnic group. sbs.com.au/news/article/h…
- Another example of why housing is unaffordable. Look at the photo. Residents want “preservation of heritage” standing in front of a vacant lot. This site is a 13 minute bus trip to the CBD – an ideal site for 150 new dwellings.
- More honest would be: "We're raising taxes on those who didn't go to university, to enrich those who did."We’re slashing student debt to ease pressure on young people. Getting back to @Griffith_Uni in our community meant I could hear directly from students like Olivia who benefit from this important @AustralianLabor policy.
00:00 - Some people think the research showing planning restrictions have a large effect on housing prices is controversial. Among urban economists, it is not. Objections on twitter reflect simple misunderstandings that are not taken seriously in the research literature. A thread: 1/6
- The blue area circled (central Chatswood, zoned E2) allows high density. The pink area (centred on Willoughby, mainly zoned R2), is reserved for low density. You can see the difference zoning makes. Yet planning academics claim that zoning doesn't affect housing supply.
- The median rent for a unit in Sydney is $720pw. In Melbourne it is 24% less, at $550pw (level or cheaper than Brisbane, Perth, Canberra and Darwin). You can see why: 1/3
- ID verification will be required for social media! That is more important than the ban on teenagers.
- If you give one group a subsidy everyone else pays. Lower HECS payments by those who went to university will be paid for by those who did not have that privilege. Good column by @SHamiltonian. afr.com/policy/health-…
- Leftist opponents of allowing more housing say “more market housing will mainly help the rich, it won’t help the poor”. A ton of research says the exact opposite. For every $100 median rent goes up, homelessness goes up 9%. gao.gov/blog/how-covid…. 1/3
- NIMBYs often claim new apartments will not improve affordability because they are expensive or “luxury”. This is economically illiterate. The effect on affordability is not the price of the new houses; it is the effect of increased supply on other houses.
