Bibbs

You are right, sorry. I must have missed the "London" in the article I'd read this morning. http://www.independent.co.uk/property/uk-house-prices-continue-to-rise--average-home-now-worth-169624-8747692.html 170k / 26k = 6.5 (house / salary = multiplier). 550k / 86k = 6.4 So quite comparable .. if the "averages" are the same type. EDIT - This was the article that gave me the 230k, but it doesn't seem to mention a location. Maybe the "reporting firm" is London centric :- http://www.themovechannel.com/news/stories/sales-soar-as-uk-house-prices-almost-return-to-2008-peak/#.UiAJkjamh8E The firm's latest index reveals that prices rose 0.6 per cent in February to £229,544, 3.7 per cent above last year and just 1 per cent off the previous peak recorded in February 2008.

$400k renno. That would be awesome, I'd add a whole second floor to the house. That'd piss off the neighbors. I'll give you that workmen are expensive making even little jobs not really 'worth' it.

The 10k in tax I meant was the difference between the two articles I linked, where one said 26.5k as Gross, and the other as 16k Net. Yup, full time positions. So if you are a couple and both work, a nice deposit should be achievable if you save. If you are a one (low) income with kids and a stay at home parent, I've no idea how you would get a house. But then it's the same all over the world. vs 10 years ago .. it's a lot different. It's now twice the price for half the land. I can't see it improving. For an idea look at the places that are a good distance further outside the train lines (Yanchep, Bunbry, Mundaring). It'll keep getting higher and higher density living. At least people are not living in garages yet (unlike Bradford was it?).

First you said : You try to find a house for under $500k. I said : Well I just went on Realestate.com.au and looked at Perth and under $500k. There are thousands of them. You then said : A 4x2 under $500k in a decent area. So you added in '4x2' and 'decent area' to your first statement. That's what I meant by 'changing your requirements'. I don't have a clue where you live or what your house is like. I wasn't commenting on stuff I don't know about. I was commenting on the statements you'd made. I'm not judgmental. Apart from the fact I don't understand why people are surprised that above-average houses, in above-average areas cost above-average money. And if you earn a below-average salary, you'll have to save damn hard to make it affordable. I got 83k from the first post, with a link, where is said $1662 a week was the average wage. Which I admit isn't 83k (I'd taken $1600 a week x52 as a rounding) .. it's actually $86,424 I can't find a stat on UK salaries (I've quickly googled). but this link :- http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/394547/Mr-and-Mrs-Average-live-on-16-034 Says it's 16k a year after tax .. and this :- http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-20442666 says 26.5k before tax. But I can't believe the average person pays 10k in tax.

So people have different priorities. If you want that kinda deposit for that kinda house. Work to it and stop spending your money on other things. If you would rather have *stuff* and go out partying and a smaller house, then spend it on *stuff* and partying. It's not rocket science.

Now you are changing your requirements. Seeing as though 500k is the *average* .. you'd expect that smaller houses in worse areas to be under the average, and bigger houses in nice areas to be above it. Wouldn't you? Don't have 500k, then get a smaller house or live is a not so nice area. It's not difficult. Spend within your means.

They were saying the same about the UK. And I've read that over there house prices have gone over the peak of 2008 (pre-crash). I think on average they dropped about 10%. Yeah, but first time buyers have to be realistic. They'll not get a 4 bed house on Cott beach for 200k anymore. It's called a housing ladder, you start at the bottom and work your way up. Compare the UK. Avg house is now 230k which is is about x9 the average salary (26k I think). So Perth is house 550k and x6.5 (83k salary). And even if you are not in a nice area on Perth, even the worst places are a step up from some of the holes in the UK.

Well I just went on Realestate.com.au and looked at Perth and under $500k. There are thousands of them.

Plenty of us like that now credit is cheap. But you only have to go back a generation or two and you find that most people saved before buying. But then again they were not distracted by iPads & handbags.

So if you are single, and you earn a below average wage, and don't have assistance. Don't try and buy an average (or above) house. Live within your means. Buy somewhere that is cheaper. We can't magically give everyone a mansion in Peppermint Grove just because they do 40 hours a week.

If you want the $700k house off the bat, then yes. But most people move up the ladder over time. Also as a couple you could halve that time by both having *average* paying jobs. Or some people used to do FIFO (when mining was booming) for a year or two and bank the money. When I lived in Essex I know a guy who dealt coke for 2 years for a house deposit and gave it up. Not what I'd call a good way to get a deposit, but it worked for him.

Yup, it is that choice. We rented an awesome 2 bed apartment at Burswood. We now have a 4 bed place in the 'burbs. Looking at your postcode, I know your area well. As you say, cheaper to rent than own around there.

First time buyers pay no stamp duty under 500k, and only pay 100% over 600k (it's a sliding scale). So that can help. Why wouldn't they have a deposit? It'll either be equity out of their old house, or it will be savings while living at home and/or paying less in rent, or for the younger ones assistance from the bank of Mum & Dad. Using the figures above. If your weekly wage is $1600, that's over $5k a month after tax, take $3k away for rent and living. That's $2k a month saving. So $25k a year. 6 years and you have your $110k deposit and $30k stamp duty.

By then you should have been able to over pay for a while and have a buffer. It's also not much more expensive than renting. Worse case, you get a lodger in to help.

I'd say the housing is very affordable. $750 a week, over 30 years gets you a 550,000 loan at 5.8% .. (just did the sums on the ANZ site, at 5.3% it's just over $700 a week). 550,000 when you add a 20% deposit will get you a place in all but the best suburbs.

There is a lot of dross out there. A lot. Being a contractor means you are always under review though. My main client is very focused on the quality side. More so that any UK client I'd worked with. But who knows what the people in the next office are like. I even know that within this client different projects are run in different ways. In the background though, there is a large focus on cost cutting, as the Philippines is cheap for coding. So you've got to add something extra to be valuable here.

I paid about $700 .. but that was for a company return, advice through the year, and 2 people.

Yup, that was my take on it. They want the "perfect" candidate, but don't want to pay the price for one. Like most things : "Fast, reliable, cheap - pick any two"

I recon that's your issue.

I went to a few IT specialist agencies in Perth. After 26 months I finally got details of a job available. Agencies? I wouldn't bother.

We are after a junior .. so it would be $60k - $90k depending on how good a fit they are.

After another .NET developer. Graduate or junior level for a "blue chip" company. Perth based, full time, normal rates.

I'm in Perth. Mainly .NET development with SQL admin thrown in. I've been contacted about 3 full time roles in the last month, but don't want to quit my current client. Pay would have been "market rates", so $600 - $760 a day going by the latest review on Robert Walters ($75-$95 ph). I'm contacted fairly often, mainly via LinkedIn. I've had to turn most down though as they all want full-time.

Anyone an AX developer, or looking for work and know Nintex? A company I work with is looking for both.

I'm more in Development, but I'll keep my ear out.