Actually I think the main cause is overly concessional capital gains tax discounts, which are exacerbated by, and amplify, the effects of untaxed land rents. By

Actually I think the main cause is overly concessional capital gains tax discounts, which are exacerbated by, and amplify, the effects of untaxed land rents. By any conceivable measure, including price to personal income, residential property is about 4-5 times more expensive compared to 15 years ago. See: http://i.imgur.com/t0RYpOo.png http://i.imgur.com/t0RYpOo.png The second graph is especially telling. The value of an investment asset is determined by how much income it is expected to produce in the future. Yet even though rents (i.e. the return to property) stayed flat, the price of the asset quadrupled. And no, at the time it was brought in it wasn't intended as a 'fuck the young' measure. It was more, 'fuck the poor'. However, a 15 year head start on wealth accumulation and a selfish refusal by the baby-boomers to entertain the idea of fixing this glaring inequity (among many others) means it has since morphed in to 'fuck the young'. And I don't want to own a string of properties. I just want to own one. I like the idea of owning my own shelter, as a form of insurance against homelessness.