Richard
Moore's Straight Talk Columns
We'll
all pay price of greed over housing
25/1/2011
SO
TAURANGA is the world's least affordable place to buy a house. Well,
no big surprise there.
According
to figures from a world housing survey you need to spend 6.5 times
your annual salary to buy a house here. That's more than twice the
``ideal income-to-loan ratio''.
Heck,
even Aucklanders pay less (6.4) and so do New Yorkers (6.1).
Most
of the blame for the high cost of housing here is being placed on
the high cost of land. That's true to a degree but really it is
bad planning and greed that are the problems.
There
is a dearth of two-bedroom units - to suit young or older couples
- in the newer areas of the city.
On
offer instead are three-four-five bedroom homes that don't really
meet the needs of an ageing population.
Then
we have the greed of developers who got their mitts on land early
on and are selling it off at premium rates in housing subdivisions
that require a minimum size of dwelling.
There's
the avarice of Baby Boomers who have made an absolute killing in
real estate over the past decade as their property values have skyrocketed.
But that doesn't stop them moaning about the high rates they have
to pay.
Of
course the economic downturn should have meant a correction in property
prices but that hasn't happened to any great degree. Those who bought
at the top of the market and have had to sell have seen major losses
but other owners have just hunkered down and are waiting for the
prices to rise again.
I
reckon that's pretty unlikely as folk I talk to would rather rent
than pay stupid money for overpriced places.
And,
let's face it, the price of a home in Papamoa is beyond the affordability
of many nowadays so when the Boomers go to sell their houses to
fund their world trips there will be too few able to buy them. Lastly
there's the unspoken-of spectre of leaky homes.
We
don't hear too much about the old LH do we?
That's
not really surprising when you consider that most of Papamoa's growth
was built during the leaky era.
Many
residences built between 1987 and 2004 are rated as high or very
high risk.
Next
time you are driving around have a look at some of the fabulous
homes near our shores and tick off the list of danger signs.
Two
storeys, parapet roof, a flat roof, internal guttering, tiny eaves,
or decks inserted into exterior walls.
As
growth in Tauranga continues to stall the cost of our rapid expansion,
lax building standards and greed will come back to bite many people.
*******
``American
Express _ Don't leave home without it.''
So
said the late actor Karl Malden when promoting use of the US credit
card.
Well,
clearly Karl never landed upon the island of Waiheke, which is situated
just off the coast of Jaffaland central.
It
is a lovely spot to unwind on holiday but it does have a few quirks,
particularly if you are relying on aforementioned plastic to pay
bills.
Arriving
at the Saratoga winery it was good to see the Amex symbols on all
the outdoor umbrellas.
Fab,
thinks I, if some of these Waiheke wines turn out to be better than
pretentiousness suggests then I can notch up a few bottles on the
card.
Now
many Waiheke wineries are not overly friendly as you have to pay
for some tastings. At Saratoga you not only fork out $5 per person
but then they limit the number of wines you can check out to three
only. They won't even open new bottles if they run out.
``Sorry.
Not done. Boss' orders.''
Despite
all this I found a dessert wine that was rather good and so went
to pay for two on my Amex card.
``Sorry,
we don't take American Express.''
``But
you've got the symbol on your umbrellas.''
``Sorry.
Not done. Boss' orders.''
Sigh.
Later
on we arrived at a beachside restaurant famed for having some of
the best fish and chips in Jaffaland.
The
fish was indeed excellent.
Afterwards
out came the leather wallet with a very reasonable bill inside and
I noted it had the American Express symbol on it.
Excellent.
Unfortunately
the waiter returned and apologetically informed me there was a problem
with the card as they didn't take Amex.
``But
it is on the front of your bill holder.''
``Sorry
sir, it is an old one. We should get them replaced.''
Sigh.
I
think Amex needs to change its message. `
`American
Express, don't bother leaving home with it.''
richard@richardmoore.com..
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