Monday, January 24, 2011

All housing supply conditions lead to higher prices! Amazing economic discovery by ANZ

This is so hilarious, I have to run it by you all -- according to this article, a bigger supply of housing will lead to higher house prices, AND a tight supply of houses also leads to higher prices!!!

Can you see what you're up against in the world of cash for comment reporting in the major influential dailies on behalf of vested interests like the banks and REIs?

From the article:

1. More construction is needed to stimulate more purchases of homes, which in turn helps push prices higher as overall confidence remains bullish. (!!!)

2. ANZ predicted that a shortage of available homes to rent would help spark prices by next year, perking up what’s been a lacklustre construction sector. (OK, maybe that's rentals in this context, but every other article out theresays there's a 'housing shortage' -- unlikely -- keeping prices high, and Australia somehow has lost all its builders and will to construct. Hundreds of thousands of employed workers are living in tent cities as I write this.)

So an oversupply of houses causes increased prices, and an undersupply causes increased prices!!! Marvellous, isn't it? Somebody seems to be always winning here. (And it's not the average ordinary housebuyer.)

And house prices apparently have nothing to do with easy supply of credit, novel lending forms encouraging speculators to borrow against other equity to 'invest', and low interest rates. Nothing at all.

Clearly what is desired is more mortgages for the banks, and the way to do that is 1) frighten everyone that houses will soon become even dearer using the mass media, and 2) make investors think it's actually a worthwhile investment – regardless of signalled interest rate movements in the near future and current very poor returns on housing as an 'investment' at today's prices.

PR masquerading as serious economic modelling. The ANZ in particular seems to have suddenly become the most aggressive bank in peddling lies, with similar offerings in Smart Company – I wonder if they are in the most trouble in the immediate future, reliant as they are on overseas wholesale funds to fuel the Australian lending frenzy, funds which are about to become a lot dearer for the bank.

Australians need to realise they are being exploited and abused by their banks and bankers.