A comparison of house prices brought by English auctions and private negotiations produced evidence that the pricing mechanism matters, with the price maximizing choice a function of the level of market interest.

This paper reviews the housing cost data available in Australia, and derives and presents series of real price indexes for 1979-92 and real rent indexes for 1980-92 for most of the capital cities. It shows a dramatic increase in the annual cost of owning relative to renting, particularly for younger Australians.

Bourassa and Hendershott use data from the 1986 Income Distribution Survey in Australia to argue a case for the taxation of imputed rent on owner occupied housing.

Recent years have seen the re-emergence of a major shortage of affordable housing and housing issues are again appearing in the political agenda . This article disucsses the complex reasons for the colapse of the thirty year long struggle to provide decent and affordable housing for the majority of citizens.

This paper describes the suburban ideal, explains its historical development and compares the Australian suburb with its counterpart in other countries such as the United States and Great Britain.