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The Finance Show With Joe
Welcome to the Finance Show with Joe hosted by It’s Simple founder, Joseph Daoud. We chat about the financial issues facing ordinary Australians from managing the cost-of-living to investment strategies in order to help you make more informed financial decisions.
Join us as we discuss finance, mortgages and home buying in Australia!
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The Finance Show With Joe
Why NIMBYs are Ruining the Housing Market
Australia's housing market is being strangled by the NIMBY (Not In My Backyard) phenomenon, with the average first home buyer age jumping from 34 to 37 in just three years. This devastating trend shows how local opposition to development is driving up prices and pushing homeownership further out of reach for young Australians.
This episode touches on:
• The NIMBY mindset
• Sydney's poor urban planning compared to Melbourne's more efficient grid layout
• Top 10 Sydney suburbs with less than 1% housing growth, including Glenmore Park and Illawong
• Australia approving only 500,000 dwellings while welcoming 1.34 million new residents (2022-2025)
• Housing prices skyrocketing – example of Bossley Park property gaining $160,000 in just 13 months
• Average Australian savings dropped from $39,000 to $29,000 in three years
• Overregulation and excessive red tape slowing development approvals
• Strategic property investment as a potential solution for individuals facing the housing crisis
If you need help with property investment or financial advice, contact us for guidance.
Follow us for more property news and mortgage advice!
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DISCLAIMER This podcast contains general financial information only. That means the information does not take into account your objectives, financial situation, or needs. Because of that, you should consider if the information is appropriate to you and your needs before acting on it.
the age of the first home buyer in australia in 2022, it was 34. Three years later, it's 37. It's paralyzing, it's crippling to the economy. First time buyers where do they go? And the answer is a duplex in belmont 10 years ago. You're looking at 800 to 900 000. You can't get anything for under like two and a half million belmore, belmore. It's such a funny market right now. It's very strange. There's reason for developments being rejected in these areas. It's because of NIMBYs.
Speaker 2:Are they ruining the housing market? All signs point to yeah.
Speaker 1:It's an acronym, not in my backyard. Not in my backyard, but unfortunately this does affect the housing market. I've heard numerous people say we've got to bring housing prices down, We've got to get rid of negative gearing. How do we change this and how has it affected Australia?
Speaker 2:Welcome to the Finance Show with Joe. He's Joe, I'm Michael, and today we're going to be talking about NIMBYs. And are they ruining the housing market? All signs point to yes, apparently.
Speaker 1:I don't know what opinion to give because, um, I'm gonna upset someone oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, definitely gonna upset someone with this one.
Speaker 2:Before we get too ahead of ourselves, let's just define what a nimby is. For those who don't know I know people like it's a buzzword been thrown around. But in case you don't know what it is, it's a person who this is the dictionary definition uh, the person who objects to the sighting of something perceived as unpleasant or hazardous in the area where they live, especially while raising no subject objections to similar developments elsewhere. So, generally speaking, as an example, let's say you're in Vaucluse and the council has decided they want to put social housing in the area.
Speaker 2:Typically they're not going to be happy about that, but it can be like factory things as well, Like if they're putting up a factory near your suburb, people will object to that.
Speaker 1:It's an acronym, not in my backyard.
Speaker 2:Not in my backyard, it's all there.
Speaker 1:And I think just the acronym, like we could have the scientific definition which? Doesn't feel right, honestly could have the scientific definition, which doesn't feel right. Honestly, it's over specifying something that is very generic, not in my backyard, and this has caused such a commotion across australia because we've had such a halt to our development, our application process, construction, being able to provide housing for first-time buyers, for investors, for everyone really.
Speaker 1:It's also much everyone, because if what you will notice with NIMBYs is I hate using that word because, like 10 years time, I'm going to be a NIMBY, right but what you will notice is they're a part of the older demographic typically, and they don't like noise, they don't like being bothered, so they don't want developments occurring near their homes. It's very strange seeing the way that they're protesting and you will see the older demographic protesting being like we need more housing, we need to bring prices down. Okay, we're going to go put a high-rise building in the middle of Leichhardt, yeah, no, no, no, we can't do it there, yeah, not there.
Speaker 1:No, no, send them out west, and you're just like….
Speaker 2:Because people work in the city. You need to build those high-density housing closer to the city, not further out. What's the point there?
Speaker 1:The way that Sydney is built is very interesting because we've got so many heritage buildings Like in the inner west and stuff.
Speaker 1:Yeah, we actually can't go that high. If you drive all along I think it's Parramatta Road all the way up to Sydney CBD, everything's three or four stories and then one street back will be a high-rise building. Yeah, yeah, yeah, but that whole area I think I'm thinking of Newtown, I think I'm thinking of… Like Enmore and stuff like that, or Canterbury, okay, yeah. So even all the way that far down, you won't see high-rise, high-density building to the effect that you will see it in other major capital cities. When I go to Melbourne and I am there frequently now, because you know something that we'll reveal in maybe three or four episodes Watch this space, watch this hashtag They've got a lot of high-rises on the way to the city. They've taken the time to plan the city and you can see it. It's built like a grid. Sydney was never planned to be a city. You can see it's. It's built like a grid. Sydney was never planned to be a city, but they also haven't catered or tried to fix the mess that they've created.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's, it's. It's one of those things where it's you know driving in in sydney, in the city, it's confusing if you don't know where you're going. Like it doesn't make sense. Like at least melbourne it's a grid. Yeah, you go turn right here after two stops, whereas sydney you'll you'll be driving straight and you're like oh, you just missed that ramp. Did you not notice that that slight off turn?
Speaker 1:you know the story about my wife. She went viral for a tiktok like 20 million views and um uh, she got interviewed by the daily mail because every time she goes through the m8 or the m5 she ends up on the harbour bridge. She's trying to go to uh, our office in barangaroo or she's trying to go meet up with friends in balmain and she's ended up on the north shore and every single time she ends up in mossman, having to turn around and come back.
Speaker 1:She went viral for it and she was getting random dms from hundreds of people saying this happens to me daily, it's confusing and we haven't done anything. They've tried. They've tried. The issue is the voice that the individual has, especially when it comes to application planning, development process. The right to protest. The voice of the individual is so strong in Australia that it has affected people, their overall livelihood. You know a house, no, a duplex, in Belmore 10 years ago. You're looking at maximum $800,000 to $900,000. Okay, it might be more, I don't know. I don't have the stats in front of me. Yeah, you can't get anything for under like $2.5 million in Belmore, belmore, me. Million in Belmore, belmore, me. Driving through Belmore, I have been there recently. Lovely suburb. There's still the remnants of the past there, but the houses, the duplexes in Belmore are comparable to Dromoyne which is on the water.
Speaker 1:It does not make sense to me that a suburb like that and no offense to punchbowl, I love yeah I'm from punchbowl. I go to church punchbowl punches, but that's. It's right next to it. It's right next to lakemba, yeah, where you have low socioeconomic groups typically not associated with high property prices. But yet again, Belmore is performing well above what is expected. Yeah, and that is just because there's no housing supply.
Speaker 2:Speaking of I've actually got a list of the top 10 suburbs that are building the least housing in Sydney. We could do it for every state, but it's going to take forever. So, top of the list, glenmore Park. Second, illawong, then our filming location, third, harrington Park, fourth, windsor. And then we've got Yaramundi, lawson, manai, wentworth Falls, cromer and Springwood. These are all. The housing supply has grown less than a percent for each of them.
Speaker 1:Illawong and Manawai. I can somewhat understand. We don't have a train station. People don't want to live here anyways. No, I'm joking. No, what it is is Illawong and Manawai are surrounded by a national park. We've got a lot of trees in this area, so to be able to get anything approved is quite difficult. You will see vacant lots of land in this area. Go for double Patstow, okay, randomly Okay, but then you'll get another vacant lot of land that will sell for less like 10%, less than the same size as Patstow. The reason for that is Illawong definitely is not a pass-through suburb. It's a destination suburb. No one has ever said to themselves oh, I'm just going to pass through Illawong.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I mean, before we started filming this podcast, I didn't even know where Illawong was.
Speaker 1:We've had very, very minimal development in this whole area. We've only got one apartment block and it took them forever to get an approval and that's possibly because of the neighbors, because of the school that's across the road from it. There was a number of factors, but it took them five, six years just to get it out of the ground. It was not an easy process. Menai surprises me a little bit because, me knowing that suburb, I know that there's potential there. Problem is nobody wants to invest in that area. So there's two sides of this With Menai. If I went and bought a block of land in Menai, it might cost me the same as it would in. I'm just going to choose a random suburb Punchbowl, whatever Grand Acre the block of land might cost me the same. But to be able to get bank funding or get any source of funding, the developer quite often needs to go through a pre-sales process. How are they going to achieve pre-sales when the people that want apartments, when they want good work-life balance where they can get to and from work in 30 minutes, man, no one doesn't have a train station.
Speaker 1:So when I was working in town in 2018, and this is before you know had my car spot and everything. It would take me an hour and 40 minutes door to door every day. It's how the crazy morning routine started, because I was like… you were waking up earlier already. I had to to door every day. Yeah, it's how the crazy morning routine started, because I was like you're waking up earlier already. I, I had to. Yeah, otherwise I wouldn't make it to work. If I, if I left home 7 50, I would not be at my office until 9 40 am. Um, yeah, it's a shit show. So the developers don't want to develop here because they won't make their money. They won't have people actually coming here and saying hey, guess what, guys, I'm gonna put my money in here and I'm gonna do, I'm gonna achieve pre-sales, because they won't achieve the pre-sales and they might go bust yeah so the developments that you see around here, it's all single-story luxury houses that's what.
Speaker 2:That's sort of what I've noticed because, like there are, there are dwellings being approved, like although the number of dwellings been approved in Illalong over the last two years is only 12. And then Menai it was 42.
Speaker 1:I wonder if one of those buildings was mine, because I built here. Honestly, it's definitely mine, I say that, I say like oh no it is, it's definitely yours. That's hilarious.
Speaker 2:Where else did you say so? Harrington Park? Glenmore Park was at the top of the list, so that's out west.
Speaker 1:yep, uh, windsor uh, yarimundi windsor surprises me yeah, I mean there's nothing there, though nothing in penrith either.
Speaker 2:People still buy there yeah, but there's work that you can work in penrith. I'm joking, I'm joking about.
Speaker 1:I probably pissed a bunch of people off. No, but, um, windsor, is that?
Speaker 2:that one surprised me the most, because there's a lot of land out that way and I thought that they would have developed that I wonder if it's because it's a big flood zone and I used to live, not near it, but near enough that I got the news. Um, that place used to flood constantly. It's all built on a flood plain. Well, that's the reason why. That's what I imagine. Yeah, that is 100, the river there always floods.
Speaker 1:But it's funny you bring up this top 10 list because they all have something in common, it's all. I can imagine that ABS has the stats on each one of these suburbs. I'm assuming the median age is much higher than what it would be across the rest of Sydney. Yeah, and there's reason for developments being rejected in these areas. It's because of that thinking I want to retire. I don't want anyone else to come near me, I don't want to hear loud jackhammers in the morning, I don't want to get disturbed by concrete trucks and that's it.
Speaker 1:But unfortunately and fortunately, this does affect the housing market. Yeah, so I've heard numerous people say oh, we've got to bring housing prices down, we've got to get rid of negative gearing. There's so many things, especially around this election time, that just key hot words to try and get people to vote other people in, and I don't think they really pay attention to the cause and effect yeah, right, right, right Of the arguments they're trying to fight for. Oh, no, we need more housing. Okay, let's build it in Redfin. No, no, no, not there.
Speaker 2:Yeah, again, this is back to the NIMBY stuff.
Speaker 1:But that also gives an advantage to anyone that has invested in those areas, that has thought to themselves. You know what? I'm going to go put my money here and I'm going to fucking make some money here. I did a video on Instagram recently Friend of mine well, not friend is a friend, actually but they purchased in Bosley Park, oh yeah, and they purchased for 1.3 mil and 13 months later it's worth 1.46 mil. That's $160,000 in growth in 13 months. Later it's worth 1.46 mil. That's $160,000 in growth in 13 months. That is, I think it would calculate to $13,333 a month. That they would make $160,000 in growth is one and a half times the median salary in Sydney and I highly doubt a lot of people are on 100 flat. I, I believe more people are on 90 plus 10k bonus or so something like that.
Speaker 1:Yeah, but I saw that statistic and I was like there is really a lack of housing supply. And then, and then 225 000 dwellings and we had a net migration of minus 84 900 people. Okay, we had more people moving out of australia. Yeah, in that time, from 2022 to 2025, collectively, okay, those three years, we've approved 500 000 dwellings but we've brought 1.34 million people. Yeah, right, right, right, right. And what does that say? Oh, for every house we build, we need three people to live in it the age of the first home buyer in Australia. This is going to be the cherry on top.
Speaker 2:Oh, I think I know the age too, but I want to guess, in 2022, it was 34.
Speaker 1:Yeah, in 2025, that's three years later, it's 37 and a half yeah yeah, I was going to say 38.
Speaker 2:Look how proud of himself he is.
Speaker 1:I knew it, it's just so it's paralyzing, it's crippling to the economy and there's pros and cons on every side of this. The people that have already invested, or the people that already purchased property, are loving life because, their net wealth is just growing.
Speaker 2:Well, like you said, that guy just made $130,000, essentially in 13 months. $160,000. $160,000. They're even better $160,000.
Speaker 1:But then first-time buyers where do they go? And the answer is and I always say this every time time we've got to go regional, yeah, and you've got to build your wealth that way. There's two markets that are down in australia and I believe that you could personally pick up a bargain there tasmania and victoria. They have better planning, they have better nightlife. We always talk about this stuff.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it always comes up.
Speaker 1:But it's a very important thing to note that Melbourne has approved more dwellings than New South Wales has, so Victoria has approved more dwellings. And then you think about it and you're like Victoria is one third the size of New South Wales. How?
Speaker 2:is it possible Again? I guess it's a mixture of NIMBYism or I don't know what the hell is going on with our local councils of NIMBYism, or I don't know what the hell is going on with our local councils.
Speaker 1:It's a mixture of the NIMBYism. So you've got, you know, Dan down the road screaming not in my backyard, yeah. Then you've got unsafe builders who have come in and created a lot of issues Mascot Towers and Opal Tower in Sydney Olympic Park.
Speaker 2:Oh, yes, yes, so these are the ones, these are the buildings that like there's cracks, they're kind of falling apart like it's just built shoddily.
Speaker 1:The remedial work is millions upon millions of dollars to fix both of them. So we've got those two that just brought in all this red tape, and I agree with the building code and I agree with some of the Nibi mindset. However, you will see tier one developers get away with murder Just because they're building something Just because of reputation.
Speaker 2:Ah classic reputation.
Speaker 1:It's these people. No, no, they're going to be okay. They are picking and choosing their battles very specifically. Okay, okay, um, they are targeting last names, ethnicity or oh, that was a bad one.
Speaker 1:Um, complexion, they're targeting complexion okay and they want to go in and they want to make sure that if you guys are going to build, you play by our rules and if we catch you not playing by our rules, there's going to be a 500 000 penalty. Who's got 500? Who's? Who's got five grand? To throw out a penalty like it? It's so. It's such a strange housing market that we're in because yet again, no one has savings yeah, because they're spending it all on housing or trying to.
Speaker 1:I've got so many stats, I was so ready for today's episode. In 2022, the average Australian I'm talking like anyone in Australia the average amongst all of them was $39,000. Okay, that's how much they had in savings In 2025, it's $29,000.
Speaker 2:So it's 10 grand deficit there. Without even including the inflation or how much cost of living has gone up, maybe even less.
Speaker 1:If you take it back to those terms, it's probably 24, 28. It's fucking barbaric. Sorry for cursing, but you see that. And then you also see record house prices in God knows where, and it's just such a funny market right now.
Speaker 2:It's very strange. The thing is as well, because spoilers we're filming during the election, like the election campaign and stuff.
Speaker 1:If we actually have anyone that listens to this, which I found out recently we do. The temptation to talk about so many things to do with the election and us holding ourselves back was so high today, but the election is going on.
Speaker 2:The election is going on, but the federal government doesn't actually have any control over these developments and stuff like that. They have little control.
Speaker 1:Oh Michael, sweet summer child I have been. I'm not going to fucking say it, I'm going to get myself fucking shot Because we've talked about previous episodes.
Speaker 2:We've talked about inefficiencies in local councils and things like that, but really it's up to state governments to try to get these housings, like these housing developments, happening in each state. Hence why victoria is probably getting more yeah like I would say that's probably the reason as compared to new south wales. I'm not gonna lie, I don't know much about new south wales labor. I've not really thought much about it because we haven't had a state election in a while.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's I. Just we need our own doge. We need just people in government that are able to bring up the efficiency, because the truth is we've got a million new government workers in the last four years three years and it's taking longer to get things done.
Speaker 2:People are taking the mickey I think I honestly think it's part of that, a part of a culture of australia where we like to put up red tape and rules sort of everywhere, like one bad thing goes like lockout laws, I feel like, is the is the classic example. Granted, it wasn't just one guy that got king hit, that caused that to happen, look, look, but it was that quick reaction of no, now we have a rule that's trying to prevent this and you'll see it everywhere. Like I just came back from the UK, like a week or two ago, and, yeah, they have rules like everywhere else, but there's so much more that is left up to you Like, hey, obviously, use some common sense, don't be an idiot, whereas we to you, like, hey, obviously, use some common sense, don't be an idiot, whereas we will have a sign for absolutely everything. Like we are, we are such a nanny state and we love it, but we complain about it like I was.
Speaker 2:I was, I was on reddit the other day and they were complaining about the um, there's your problem? Yeah, well, I've been. Yeah, but they were complaining about ford raptors and stuff like the big american style, like uh, utes, yeah, and they're like they should be banned this, that and the other. I'm like this is why we have so much overregulation and stuff, because people complain like, oh, this should be banned and that should be banned because I don't like it.
Speaker 1:And it's like that's not.
Speaker 2:It's just not how it works. Unfortunately, we live in a society. It's a bit of give and take. People are going to do what you don't like.
Speaker 1:We're not uniform. Well, unfortunately, and I know you vote for this particular party, but that's the Greens and that's the way that they think. Oh, I don't vote for the Greens. Oh, I thought you did. Sorry, I saw Iron Maiden t-shirt and I went there.
Speaker 2:No, no, no.
Speaker 1:I've never voted for the Greens in my life. Have you ever read the?
Speaker 2:manifest. Yeah, I've read bits and pieces, but I was. It's communism. Well, yeah, they're socialists, but they've said that Like it's not a mystery.
Speaker 1:No, no, no. But it's proper communism. It's oh. Everyone should be treated equal and, unfortunately, you will have people with more drive, you will have people that have disabilities. We don't live in that world, and what we have found in every single socialist communist party is there's corruption at the top name. One communist party that wasn't corrupt?
Speaker 2:oh, no, no, the problem. I wasn't. I wasn't going to argue that the problem. What I was going to say was like the problem is like, uh, one party systems in general, because there's no, there's no, there's no pushback. That's the beauty of democracy, you sweet like the the general.
Speaker 1:This fucking podcast.
Speaker 2:Yeah, we started, yeah um, but yeah, it's a one party thing, like you've got no, no pushback. Hence the the beauty of democracy one party gets voted in a bunch of. That makes a certain section of people happy. Then they're unhappy, then we shift to the next one, and that makes that certain people. And you know you, you strive towards a middle ground. That's the the beauty of it. Right, it's supposed to be Well, that's supposed to be, that's the ideal, but unfortunately, Platonic ideal, but unfortunately we are way too connected because of the internet.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and I saw a girl on TikTok the other day that was like I don't believe in gravity and her vote counts just as much. Her vote counts just as much as mine and to me personally she's allowed to have a vote. But I just come on, man, I don't understand.
Speaker 2:Like you know. Well, that's the American argument for not making voting compulsory as well. Yeah, so it prevents the quote uneducated vote.
Speaker 1:Yeah, but to me it's just silly. Going back to NIMBYs, how do we? No, no, no, no.
Speaker 2:Let's get back on topic.
Speaker 1:No, but to wrap up the conversation.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1:How do we change this and how has it affected Australia? Let's start with how it's affected Australia first. Our cities are sprawling at a rate that we can't keep up when it comes to work. The trains went on strike for two months straight this year One month or two.
Speaker 2:Yeah, let's just say it was enough. It was enough that it was noticeable.
Speaker 1:Yeah, we already have people living an hour away from the city just to be able to afford a home, myself included, and then they can't get to work. If they can't get to work, that means the gross domestic product, like our efficiency as a race, drops, and I just think that the everyday Australian going back to that is just tired. Everyone's fucking exhausted. Everyone's tired of driving, everyone's tired of getting a random fine. Everyone's tired of these random tolls. I need to go do X Y, z to be able to go start a business, but guess what? Nobody's going to answer my phone and I'm going to be on hold for 50 minutes. And now I've got the shits. And now I've got you know, all these people calling me and I'm going to revert back to the nimby culture and how to get out of it. Go buy yourself. Go buy yourself a fucking block of land in an area that's going to be growing. Okay, watch the equity grow on that stuff. Build your cash surplus up. Okay, build your equity portfolio and then you can no longer, or you will then be able to control your own destiny, and it's why I'm in the business that I'm in and it's why I'm always preaching about property If the government is actively approving less dwellings, which we've seen.
Speaker 1:They're actively increasing our net migration. It means one thing We've got this much housing, this many people, it's going to lift up, and how do you take advantage of that as a person? So we need people to think for themselves. Fuck Anyone that has been on one of australia's reddit forums and creates a an opinion from there. They really, really, really need to. Just they need to be taken to a farm. Just don't get your opinions from the internet period.
Speaker 1:No, no, no. But they need to be taken to a farm and they need to work on the farm for at least three weeks straight, just so they can learn what and appreciate what we've built here in Australia and to let go of the red tape of, oh, but I don't like this, so I don't want to do it and I don't want to let anyone else do it. No, fuck you, bro. Let people strive if they want to, and if you don't want to strive, there's a suburb called lithgow. Okay, there's a suburb called nimbin.
Speaker 2:Okay, there's a, there's a. Lithgow's a fucking depressing place. I've been there so much, it's so depressing.
Speaker 1:I'm trying to highlight the fact that like, okay, if you don't want to participate, yeah then don't participate, but don't don't handcuff the people that are trying to build a better life for themselves, handcuff the people that are scumbags, that are, that are doing the fucking dirty shit, that are all that sort of handcuff, that, but don't handcuff the people that are trying to get ahead anyways yeah to wrap this all up in a nice little bow at the end.
Speaker 1:Wrap it all up, have nimbies affected our culture? Yes, yeah, how has it happened? Too connected on the internet. What could we do about it? Avoid it. Go buy yourself a block of land. Make some fucking money. Wait about 18 months. Go buy another block of land. Make some fucking money. Wait another 18 months. Do it again. Recycle. All of a sudden, retire by 40 and go to bed. That's it. Or build a duplex.
Speaker 2:Or build a duplex.
Speaker 1:And, as always, if you need help with your property or your financial advice If you're looking to build a duplex. If you're looking to build a duplex.
Speaker 2:Call it simple.
Speaker 1:Liam, I'm going to get someone from Fairfield. Anyways, thank you all for listening to a very chaotic but entertaining episode on Nimbys. And, as always, I'm Joe, I'm Michael and we'll see you at the next one.
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