2010 Demographia Survey

[Graemsay]

The new Demographia survey is up on the web:

http://www.demographia.com/dhi.pdf

Look, I know that there are flaws in their research, but here are how their median multiples have shifted.

• Sydney - 8.6 (2008), 8.3 (2009), 9.2 (2010)
• Melbourne - 7.3 (2008), 7.1 (2009), 8.0 (2010)
• Perth - 7.6 (2008), 6.9 (2010)
• Australia - 6.3 (2008), 6.3 (2009), 6.8 (2010)

In percentage terms, the increases from the salary multiples between the 2009 and 2010 reports track the increases in property prices.

But what I found interesting were a couple of comments in the more general discussions.

• The land cost is now 70% of the price of a property in Sydney. (In the UK it reached 50% of the cost during our peak years.) Historically in both markets it was around 30%.
• Land release in Sydney has fallen from 10,000 lots per year in 2000 to 2,000 in 2007.
• The number of builds being started has fallen across Australia, which contributes to the housing shortages.

Lastly, Bournemouth is now the least affordable place in the UK. Having recently visited that city, all I can ask is why?