What cheeses me off

40s is not Gen Z, we're millennials.
And even that is debatable. I relate far more to the definition of being a Xennial.

And FWIW, I'm familiar with both the iron lung and the turn of phrase. Actually thought it was a fairly commonly known phrase, but perhaps it's less so than I imagined?
 
Well actually anyone born in 1980 or earlier which includes those aged 45-49 are the tail end of Gen X.
Gen X? What’s that? Media only ever talks about Boomers and Millenials. Sometimes Gen Z but now it’s more about gen Alpha. They seem to skip every second generation.
 
Who recalls when Sydney (& MEL) housing prices crashed in the early 1990s? Really crashed, not that hiccup in 2009ish.
I do!. It helped me buying into the North Shore when I move to Sydney.

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Let’s simplify the terminology, shall we?

There are boomers, and then there are kids.
 
Who recalls when Sydney (& MEL) housing prices crashed in the early 1990s? Really crashed, not that hiccup in 2009ish.

Was this when the interest rates hit 17%+ ??

I remember making about $200 per week back then (about 20yrs old) and reading articles about people losing their homes
 
Was this when the interest rates hit 17%+ ??

I remember making about $200 per week back then (about 20yrs old) and reading articles about people losing their homes
Interest rates were around 18-19%, I think we signed up for 18.5% on our first home in 1991. The crash came maybe 2-3 yrs later. My first investment property in 1979 I took interest only from my solicitor. I was paying 11.5% I/O. I think his father provided the funds. Last "real" solicitor I ever dealt with, lovely man. Had piles of rolled up documents tied up with pink ribbon all over his office. Anyway, when crash came the high end of town (acreages in Bayview, Sydney etc) dropped almost 50% in value. I know a few people who got caught. I remember lots of real estate signs emblazoned with Mortgagee in Possession. It was common for the "bank" to come to auctions and when the bidding ground to a halt tell the seller they had to accept the highest offer.

The young'uns don't seem to think it could easily happen again.
 
Officially house prices in Sydney only fell 9% in 91/92 recession and it was temporary. The advantage of course was you could get term deposits paying 15% so saving up to enter or reenter the market was quicker.

Unfortunately for the past 15 years interest earn on savings has been pitiful; pushing more investors into property market seeking better returns, driving prices up more and making RBA reluctant to let interest go back up to the average of 10% they were for most of the 20th century.
 
Was this when the interest rates hit 17%+ ??

I remember making about $200 per week back then (about 20yrs old) and reading articles about people losing their homes
I recall comedy sketch shows like Fast Forward had a lot of material about bank repossessions and mortgagees owing more now than when they took out the loan.
 
We live the times we find ; I bought a bulldozer financed by the Commonwealth development bank for a cheap as chips interest rate of 17% when most commercial finance was in the mid to late 20's.
Probably more by luck than anything else we traded our way through those wild days and still made a quid.
A major financial crisis would decimate Au these days , folks are unprepared and business little better...
 
Officially house prices in Sydney only fell 9% in 91/92 recession and it was temporary. The advantage of course was you could get term deposits paying 15% so saving up to enter or reenter the market was quicker.

Unfortunately for the past 15 years interest earn on savings has been pitiful; pushing more investors into property market seeking better returns, driving prices up more and making RBA reluctant to let interest go back up to the average of 10% they were for most of the 20th century.
I invested in NSW Railway bonds at 19.% at the time.
 
I guess many see me as strange but the last month or so I've learnt something strange about Brisbane in general.

When you apply for a rental lease the real estate agent does the reference checking and sends off applications to the owner for a decision. Is this common in Brisbane?

My brother and I have rental properties in Sydney since 1989 and I know many others on the same boat. We have never got involved in selecting tenants. (I have no interest in selecting tenants) And I have never heard of anyone I know involved in selecting tenants. I pay the real estate to make that decision.

Why is Brisbane different?

We've only got 8 weeks before we have to move out and we are not even close to securing a new lease. My luck is shining through here as well.

We're trying to stay under $520/week and that is a very competitive market. Currently paying $360/week and I don't want to break the bank.

Went to an inspection on Tuesday. More than 30 people went through the place. $450/week. Apparently there are 12 applications with the owner. You need a lot of luck. I hold no hope of getting this one. Another 3 inspections tomorrow and 2 on Tuesday.

How did we sit back and let this eventuate? One apartment listed for $485/week, going up to $590/week in 2 months after signing lease. Another apartment listed for $490 going up to $600/week in 2 months after signing lease. I know there's a shortage of rental properties but how do you justify 25% increases? The government really needs to step in here but they've chosen to stay out of it. Sad.
 
I guess many see me as strange but the last month or so I've learnt something strange about Brisbane in general.

When you apply for a rental lease the real estate agent does the reference checking and sends off applications to the owner for a decision. Is this common in Brisbane?

My brother and I have rental properties in Sydney since 1989 and I know many others on the same boat. We have never got involved in selecting tenants. (I have no interest in selecting tenants) And I have never heard of anyone I know involved in selecting tenants. I pay the real estate to make that decision.

Why is Brisbane different?

We've only got 8 weeks before we have to move out and we are not even close to securing a new lease. My luck is shining through here as well.

We're trying to stay under $520/week and that is a very competitive market. Currently paying $360/week and I don't want to break the bank.

Went to an inspection on Tuesday. More than 30 people went through the place. $450/week. Apparently there are 12 applications with the owner. You need a lot of luck. I hold no hope of getting this one. Another 3 inspections tomorrow and 2 on Tuesday.

How did we sit back and let this eventuate? One apartment listed for $485/week, going up to $590/week in 2 months after signing lease. Another apartment listed for $490 going up to $600/week in 2 months after signing lease. I know there's a shortage of rental properties but how do you justify 25% increases? The government really needs to step in here but they've chosen to stay out of it. Sad.
I've always been asked which person I'm happy to rent to. South Australia.

We are renting ourselves as well as renting our place out. Lease expires end of September 2025.

Yesterday we Received the application to continue lease until September 2026. Same rent as this year. We've only been inspected once in 8 months. It was a new build and while 'user clean', the floors and windows and sliders were filthy with builder dust. Once we cleaned that multiple times we've kept it looking brand new. Easy to wipe down the oven after each use rather than later as a big clean. We will stay.
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I'm 61 and to be honest have never heard of iron lung until just now.
Your parents will have. They lived through it and likely lost friends to polio. My Aunt succumbed to diphtheria. I certainly knew all about polio as a kid.
 
Who recalls when Sydney (& MEL) housing prices crashed in the early 1990s? Really crashed, not that hiccup in 2009ish.
Wasn't it 1989? I bought first property in October 1989. Interest rate was 17.3% and honeymoon rare of 17% for 6 months from memory. Before that term deposit rates were 15% which made saving deposit much easier.
 
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Wasn't it 1989? I bought first property in October 1989. Interest rate was 17.3% and honeymoon rare of 17% for 6 months from memory. Before that term deposit rates were 15% which made saving deposit much easier.
I admit my memory of year is getting a bit hazy now. I was in the business mid 80's and recall attending auctions where the banks would make sellers take highest offer on the day instead of enforcing possession. Around 1990 it became a deluge of Mortagee in Possessions declarations on sale signs. As mentioned my first home loan in 1991 was at 18.5%.
 

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