Dreams turn into nightmares. Aussie dissatisfaction with the availability of good, affordable housing is now among the highest in OECD

They aren't, there is a virtual flood of building companies falling into liquidation.

Australian exceptionalism is by and large a myth. Like Saudi, they have been blessed with minerals but there is a strong case to be made that they have managed this resource very poorly.

My impression is that it can be a great place if you are a professional or a hard working tradie who walks into a job, if not it can be a tough place to be depending on your particular situation. Dog eat dog..... Look at all the 501s.

In this day and age keeping lifestyle creep in check is very hard for the instagram/ social media generation.

You're right, we generally have lower expectations and that's part of the reason Kiwi's are popular amongst foreign employers. 

Not as high as the Turkish!

Having lived in Australia for 25 years , so do Australians. Although in their poorly, and in many cases, non-insulated houses, they do call it reverse cycle aircon.

There are currently 1 million international students in Australia, all of whom have come in post covid.  Add to that another 1.7M with work visas, making up a total of 2.77m temporary visa holders currently in Australia.  Thats what they get for voting a Labor Govt in.  

Doesn't work because of expectations, everyone thinks they can live in a place like Manly, Sydney.

I suppose that not a lot of people want to live away from the costal regions in Aus, it's too hot further inland. As far as spreading out in the coastal regions, the same could be said for NZ, why isn't New Zealand housing spreading out more, there is so much unused land in NZ! The reason is zoning restrictions, etc. same issues as in NZ I would imagine

Lots of land in America as well-and you don't need to settle for cheapy relocatables to find your 1st Home.  In a Metro Region of 3.4 million the Metropolitan Commission has insured farmland can be converted to Residential as needed. Plans are set for 20 years out and then executed as promised.  Examples:  https://www.zillow.com/community/woodland-cove/29509932_plid/

https://www.zillow.com/home-builder-profile/m-i-homes/11531/minneapolis…

You seem far more interested in finding practical solutions for the Australian market then the NZ one. 

If you don’t also build the infrastructure to support the spread out population you get what’s know as urban sprawl. Car dependent houses without amenities nearby result in traffic jams at your nearest business district.

It’s orders of magnitude cheaper to in-fill, or build higher density closer in (but NIMBY obviously).

Bushfires say hi.

A financially prudent politician who treats public money like they do their own money is a rare thing indeed.

When debt goes up it is normal to have no plans whatsoever to pay it down in the near future. And on an individual project basis: to approve projects where there is no requirement to have good solid positive financial additional income coming in to pay down the debt.

One great example of this is the Auckland city rail link project financial disaster.

A mouldy shitbox villa is normal here, not so much in Aussie. Plus we are having a massive crash so some are satisfied in the direction if not the current status. 

Fair comment. The Aotearoa Ponzi appears to further down the road than its Aussie counterpart. However, that has certain psychological advantages for the Aotearoan: They may start questioning the 7-10 year universal truth force fed to them by the likes of Granny and Ashley Church and amplified at their respective water coolers and BBQs. They start to understand how it all works relative to money supply expansion, etc 

However, I think that there's still a deluded idea that everything is milk and honey in Australia, even though Aussies themselves are fully tapped out. In real terms, Aussie wages are at 2010 levels and disposable income is well below OECD comparable economies. Furthermore, Australia has experienced the largest collapse of real household income per capita in the developed world over the past year.

https://www.macrobusiness.com.au/2025/01/its-official-australians-face-…

You know why JC, COAL/GAS. 

WA and Queensland digging it out of the ground so when all our uni students protest about climate change and how hard it is to get a good paying job and run off to OZ their wages a either directly or in directly linked to mining. Wether a Doc in Sydney or a nurse in Melborne the two states WA and Queensland pay a 60 dollar royalty to the federal govt ever rail cart that goes to port. The the state govts beg from the federal govt for more money. WA and Queensland are starting to protest this saying they want more oc that royalty to be  spent in their states

It probably depends a lot on age and stage though. Mid-career, qualified, bit of cash behind, seems a no-brainer.

Young - I recommend for the job opportunities available from the much better range of industry qualifications available.

But you gotta be prepared to work. Aus is pretty cut-throat compared to NZ. Just because there is well-paid work available doesn't mean it's being handed out like candy.

But these are just my own observations.

True. The better salaries have simply converted into even more expensive real estate than here. 

No one is saying that we should consider it a good thing! :)  

The point is that as we whinge and whine about our hosing problems and as people recommend that the solution is to move overseas (Aus mainly), we should be realistic and realise that Aus has similar housing issues, and so do many other developed countries around the world. 

As it's been said many times before it's still easier in most places to buy housing with Australian incomes than it is here. This is what matters to Kiwis. Even if you don't buy a house there you can save more and bring it back if you want.

Just because this survey says that Australians are more dissatisfied it doesn't actually mean it's worse there.

If you are good you will do well in NY London Paris or Tokyo

I guess even CHCH

The best go to test themselves, if you are just looking for cheap housing I suggest SE Asia..

The Australian equities markets are at record highs. Their Banks are doing well and even their retailers are recovering as Australians start to spend again. Our equities market is not  going that great as we are in a deep recession and our retailers are certainly struggling. Those who go to Australia if they have a trade or profession and have experience they will generally do well. Their housing might not be cheaper but when you earn more it will be easier to buy that very important first home. 

This is a genuine problem, even I notice that the calibre of the average Kiwi is noticeably deteriorating using professional and social measures.

We literally swap our best for our worst with Australia, it's a rotten human balance of payments deficit. The perception that the ambitious have to leave to succeed is going to doom us long-term. We'll be left with Qtown and surrounds, Waiheke Is. and several beach communities in the NI as the last bastions of aspiration & international appeal. The rest will be like The Road.

There is nothing to aspire to here.

Bollocks

You have to ask what exactly Albanese expected in dramatically increasing inward migration when housing was already unaffordable? The media should be asking him whether he intended to further drive up house prices or was simply unaware that increasing demand would have this effect? The same thing has been seen in New Zealand and Canada.

Agree