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Australia to triple fees on foreigners buying existing homes, penalise them if they leave properties empty (www.scmp.com)
submitted 2 years ago by to c/world@lemmy.world
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[–] 13 points 2 years ago (3 children)

Mate, I earn below median wage and I could buy a “holiday home”. This isn’t something fancy, it’s a shitty old house in the bush.

What I can’t afford is a house where jobs and people are, the city.

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  • [–] 17 points 2 years ago (2 children)

    I think a lot of people hear holiday home and think like, tropical bungalow. A holiday home here in Sweden usually won't have a sewage connection, and oftentimes not even running water. You'd have to use a potty and bring potable water yourself. You could get these pretty cheap so long as you're in a position where you have some money left over after expenses.

    A proper house will easily be 10x the amount a holiday home is.

    There are fancier ones of course, that can basically double as a home. Anyone I know that has such a thing owns it as a family (as in grandparents, siblings, etc.).

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  • [–] 4 points 2 years ago (1 child)

    I think people are picturing that, because that's what's been happening elsewhere; foreign investors using luxury real estate as an investment.

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  • [–] 1 point 2 years ago

    Well yes, not saying those aren’t a thing, but they’re not the only type of holiday homes. It’s not unfeasible for a normal person living above subsistence to be able to afford a holiday home.

    Saying “oh you have a holiday home you’ve enough of an advantage” doesn’t really work in all cases.

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  • [–] 10 points 2 years ago (2 children)

    A holiday home is a second home. If you don't have a home already and that's what you purchase, it's not your holiday home, it's your only home.

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  • [–] 2 points 2 years ago

    They mention "the city", I interpret it as the same situation as what used to be mine, owned my main residence in a city but not in THE city so prices are lower but most jobs are outside of the city I lived in, that allowed me to buy a second residence out in the woods for cheap, but I couldn't live there full time (no water in winter, floor isn't insulated).

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  • [–] 1 point 2 years ago (2 children)

    If you don’t live there, it’s not your home.

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