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The Great Housing Hijack

The hoaxes and myths keeping prices high for renters and buyers in Australia

ebook
2 of 2 copies available
2 of 2 copies available

The Great Housing Hijack reveals how vested interests pull the strings on the property market in Australia, and offers a solution for genuinely affordable housing for those who need it.

Everyone claims to want affordable housing, but no one wants cheap housing.

While Australians on regular incomes dream of lower rents and prices, the housing policy debate has been hijacked, sailing further away from workable solutions.

Leading economics commentator Cameron Murray reveals how property insiders shape the housing market and its policy settings. He explains what property developers really mean when they call for more supply in order to provide affordable housing. He shows why landlords and the real estate industry resist rent controls and why the tax and first home buyer policies of the main political parties achieve little for first home buyers. The hoaxes created by the Housing Cheer Squad hide the brutal truth: for every winner in the property market, there is a loser.

For anyone who wants to truly understand the housing market in Australia, The Great Housing Hijack is essential reading. Drawing on the best housing policies around the world, Murray shows how Australia could create a genuinely affordable housing program without compromising the interests of existing property owners.

'If you're not sure you believe the official story of why house prices and rents are so high, read this.' -Ross Gittins

'The only book you need to understand the giant con we have fallen for. Nobody escapes unscathed. Read it.' -Michael Pascoe

'Cameron Murray unpicks Australia's housing market stitch by stitch and reveals the myths, falsehoods and vested interests that underpin the housing debate.' -Greg Jericho

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    • Books+Publishing

      January 16, 2024
      Instead of your typical dense economics book, The Great Housing Hijack: The hoaxes and myths keeping prices high for renters and buyers in Australia uses a compelling narrative with analogies, hypotheses, and a mix of historical and current realities to point out that the housing affordability problem is much older than we think it is. Author and expert housing commentator Cameron K Murray debunks the myths and lies preventing Australians from further understanding how property markets really work. He warns us against believing everything we hear from what he calls the Housing Cheer Squad—investors, politicians, real estate agents and the media. The book effectively uses a Monopoly analogy to highlight the drawbacks of letting property markets operate unchecked, addressing issues like concentrated house ownership and high prices. It dispels the notion of envying older generations for paying lower rent, revealing how Australia’s housing policies have strayed from their post–World War II ideals—the so-called ‘Golden Age’ of housing. Murray’s analysis offers valuable insights into the complexities of housing policies and their generational impacts. The final chapters reconsider the nature of property rights and propose forward-thinking policies for tackling housing price issues, including revising the government’s role in the sector. The Great Housing Hijack will appeal to anyone who wants to understand why house prices and rents are so high in Australia and what can be done about it.

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  • English

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