A plague on Aussie housing
Philip Soos
Published 8:33 AM, 16 Jan 2013
We suggest you read the excellent and entire Philip Soo article on Business Spectator http://www.businessspectator.com.au
Is Australia’s residential property market in a price bubble? This question has been much debated over recent years as housing prices leaped then slowly receded, resulting in entrenched views on both sides. Certainly, mainstream opinion is opposed to the idea that a housing bubble exists, with the government, FIRE sector (finance, insurance and real estate), and much of academia claiming that prices are linked to fundamentals or intrinsic value.
It helps to have a sound fix on what an asset bubble is when exploring this matter. Otherwise, it becomes like pornography: you can’t define it exactly, but you know it when you see it. A good starting point is the work of the late US post-Keynesian economist Hyman Minsky. His contrarian work revolved...