No, absolutely no bubble at all. None. Not anywhere.
Australia is very relaxed about any possible slow down in the global economy. In fairness Australia could give a monkey’s about Europe and even America. As long as China continues to pump hot money off-shore into Oz housing they will be riding the wave for a while longer.
But that money had better NOT stop coming in. Take a peek at house prices to income ratios for three of Australia’s main cities.
Sydney 9.1
Melbourne 8.0
Brisbane 6.1
Now just for comparison here are the house prices to income ratios for few US cities you might have heard of.
New York 7.0
San Francisco 7.0
Los Angeles 5.7
And to make the story complete. This came to light because Commonwealth Bank of Australia tried to lie about these ratios in a document it was going to present to potential foreign investors on a investment raising tour they were about to undertake. The lies were uncovered by Kris Sayce . The bank has since pulled out of an investor conference it was due to attend in Hong Kong. Wonder why?
Hi Mate
That moneymorning.com.au is one evil website !
Going to the Home page there's a goody on ' infrastructure spending' too . The subprime auto financing bubble is alive and well , etc …
My aussie friend is leaving soon, and I'm wondering whether to give her my printouts, but well she traded at some oz bank and then Chase, pre 87, so maybe I will …
tksvm for the link .
Hello Dave,
It does look good doesn't it. There is a lot of good stuff down-under which doesn't get enough attention.
Why not? See what she says.
Thank you for commenting. You're the first in days. I was beginning to wonder if I had offended everyone.
Hi Golem,
Yes it has been quiet the past few days. But unlike yourself I think most of us find the outrage hard to sustain for more than a few days running. Need to have a breather every now and then and just look at YouTube videos of cute kittens for a day or two.
But seriously, this mass delusion IS hard to take. Occasionally you get little nuggets of what looks like MSM commentators catching on. A column here on the injustice of banker's bonuses, a column there on the inadequacy of Basel III. But then they seem to disappear again without trace, move on to the next topic, Entirely superficial. They can see the lose threads but refuse to tug at them.
Jamie,
Thank you for writing. I am grateful and often amazed that people chose to come and read and sometimes share their thoughts or frustrations. I have no right to expect people to chose to come here. I am enlivened when they do.
I suppose it is that I was always ambivalent about writing a blog. I hate the idea of becoming a blow hard puffing and blustering away in a corner not realizing that he has long since ceased to be relevant or interesting.
When people don't comment I find I start to read back and think, 'Have I started to repeat myself? Have I stopped having anything of interest to say?' Sounds a bit precious I know.
Just recently I have found I increasingly feel as if I have spent two years on the wrong side of a very thick plate glass partition. Me on one side, those who hold the levers of power, on the other. The more I try to offer argumentsthe more they point at their ears and laugh.
I want this to end peacefully through a contest of words and democratic will. But the more I come to feel that those in power have no interest in listening and debating, the more I fear they are closing off any democratic and peaceful avenues.
I think we are fast approaching the point where we have to now ask ourselves, 'What now?'
Jamie AND Golem
I think there are more than little nuggets, in a way, IMF Haldane at BoE Fed here an there, there are plenty saying it … E-P at the Torygraph, a few at the guardian , on the busineess page . They know, and fear ttoo.
gotta run .XX
Hi Golem,
I am still reading, just no time to comment. You might like this article from naked capitalism
Why Do We Keep Indulging the Fiction that Banks Are Private Enterprises
It takes in the Basel III rules and also touches on why the MSM seems so out of touch.
Hi Golem
I've been blocking out this madness for the past few days, courtesy of a no-signal zone in the Lake District.
I see that the Basel III rules will do nothing in the short term and only radical actions by governments can sort this mess out – nothing will change before the next bail out is made. When the banks publish their next earnings, with record profits, we should be wearing our pith helmets. Silent contemplation has a short fuse in an unfair society and the grumblings of trade unions are looking increasingly ominous.
Dear Golem XIV
I saw your comment about lack of comments and am writing a note of support.
When the crisis broke, my first question was the one that every champagne socialist asks himself: How can I protect my personal wealth?
So I started reading. Your CIF profile and, later, this blog have been in my bookmarks since 2008. I trust your opinions because they appear to be researched, supported by data and without a personal agenda.
However, because some of your arguments deal with quite esoteric areas of finance, I'm reduced to accepting them at face value, without the time or resources to expand them on my own. I couldn't write a comment other than to contribute a gut feeling of "Holy Shit!".
But you did answer my question 'How can I protect my personal wealth?' Answer: 'You can't, we're all going to take a haircut anyway and, while we're about it, much of the problem is down to people like you.'
Two years later and I'm still self-centered but surprisingly enjoying a timid engagement with the local community. Currently looking into Local Exchange Trading Systems.
So I'm getting there. No comments, but keep writing because it helps.
I wouldn't want to go on holiday with those guys at Zero Hedge though.
Great article Rob and one which backs up Golem's fears above about the inadequacy of our current democratic institutions for remedying such a situation.
Dave from France – you're absolutely right. The Martin Wolf article linked to in the Naked Capitalism article also backs the case; I'm just not looking in the right places. As it says in the NC article though, fundamentally erroneous assumptions about the status of the banks and government/banker collusion still prevail. You have to read between the lines to get to that fear you mention.
Dave, Jamie, Rob, Rich and Bob, (You sound like a band)
THANK YOU.
I am sorry I haven't been in evidence this morning. Trying to get the book cover sorted and working helping Mark with the Index he's compiled. Back soon as I can.
No, I don't think I'd want to spend a holiday with the Zerohedge crowd either.
One intangible in the Australian housing market, is that we let in 250 000 people last year and in large parts of the country this is all the economy we have left.