Look Who it Was Random video

THE GREAT AUSTRALIAN HOUSING BUBBLE — Is the Cover-Up Finally Falling Apart?

570 views · Published 11 April 2017 · 9:17 · Indexed 6 November 2026

Channel: Mike Martins · 2017 · News & Politics

Watch on YouTube

“Commodities fall. Do you understand? They don’t go up forever.”
— Mike Martins


Hey YouTubers, Mike Martins here with another special edition of the Housing Crisis.
Today we're heading down under to Australia, and I've got an absolutely massive article that everybody following the Australian property market needs to read.
The headline says it all:
“The Great Housing Bubble Arse-Covering Begins.”
I've been talking about this housing situation for years, and now suddenly everybody seems to be talking about the same thing: household debt, investor lending, interest-only mortgages, mortgage stress, lending standards and whether Australian housing has finally gone too far.
The Reserve Bank of Australia is warning about household debt and financial stability. Lending restrictions are tightening. Banks are moving mortgage rates independently. Investor lending is under scrutiny. Interest-only lending is being targeted.
So why is everybody waking up now?
That's my question.
Sydney and Melbourne property prices have been running incredibly hard. Investors have piled into housing. Australians have taken on enormous mortgages, and we've created this mentality that somehow property prices can just keep climbing forever.
Nothing goes up forever.
Housing has become an investment vehicle, a retirement strategy, a speculative asset and somewhere to park money. But somewhere along the way we're forgetting the most basic thing:
PEOPLE NEED SOMEWHERE TO LIVE.
Young Australians need somewhere to start their lives. Families need somewhere to raise their children. Workers need to be able to live somewhere reasonably close to their jobs.
And what happens when they can't?
The article discusses the possibility of a “Minsky moment” — essentially the point where a debt-fueled boom becomes unstable and confidence begins to reverse.
Are we approaching that point in Australia?
I don't know.
But there are certainly more warning lights flashing in 2017 than I've seen before.
And Australia isn't alone. I've been covering what is happening in Vancouver, Toronto, Auckland, Sydney and Melbourne, and I'm seeing similar themes: enormous property prices, cheap money, investors, household debt and younger people increasingly questioning whether they'll ever own a home.
I'm telling people again: don't believe housing can only go up.
If you're borrowing enormous amounts of money because you're convinced somebody will pay substantially more for the property five years from now, you need to understand the risk you're taking.
And if you're a young person watching this thinking you need to jump into the market before you're permanently priced out, educate yourself first. Read. Look at the debt numbers. Look at interest rates. Look at your total debt service.
Don't let somebody at a property seminar convince you that becoming a millionaire is as simple as buying houses.
I'm leaving the article below because it's extremely long, but it's worth reading.
Australian subscribers: I really want to hear from you.
What's happening where you live?
Are investors getting nervous?
Are banks becoming more cautious?
Are people still lining up to buy?
Or is something beginning to change?
We're going to keep following this because I have a feeling 2017 could become a very important year for the Australian housing market.

#australia  #housingbubble  #housingcrisis  #australianhousingmarket  #sydney  #melbourne  #propertymarket  #houseprices  #housingaffordability  #householddebt   #PropertyBubble #propertyinvestors    #apra  #firsthomebuyers  #australianeconomy   #mikemartins

More from this channel