30 Jan 2012

Australian housing prices seen as too high

6:59 am on 30 January 2012

Housing prices in Australia are seen as over-valued. According to an annual survey by research group Demographia, Australia has the most pervasive house price problem in the world.

Radio New Zealand's Sydney correspondent says the national median price for Australia is 6.7 times what the group ranks as severely unaffordable. Mind you, New Zealand is not far behind at 6.4 times.

Poor urban planning, population growth, a tax regime that favours property and a mindset that discriminates against other investment are cited as among the reasons.

Probably the best one is that lots of people want to live there.