How Australia's housing market spun out of control — and what we can do to fix it
www.abc.net.au
Margaret's property investment odyssey peaked at 40 properties. At the other end of the spectrum, first-home buyers Justin and Lana are accustomed to disappointment. So how do we solve Australia's housing affordability crisis?

Property investment is ingrained in the Australian psyche, but is it too easy to cast landlords as the villain in our housing crisis?

  • Taleya@aussie.zoneEnglish
    1·
    1 day ago

    Negative equity is absolutely a thing - and if a property with a 900k loan drops to 650,000 for example, then banks consider it a risk

    • null_dot@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
      4·
      1 day ago

      I’m not disputing either of those points.

      banks start wanting you to close the gap between what you owe them, and what they can get if they take the house in lieu of payment.

      This is absolutely false.

      Some loans, “margin” loans, do work how you say and the bank will make a “margin call” asking the borrower to repsy a lump sum to reinstate the margin. However, this type of loan is not generally used to buy residential property.

    • Pregnenolone@lemmy.worldEnglish
      2·
      1 day ago

      They’re not saying it’s not a thing, just that banks don’t call in the mortgage just because you’re in negative equity. It’s a problem if you try to borrow more or refinance.