Tamara Jenkins has been outbid about 20 times in her nine-month quest to buy an apartment in Melbourne’s inner suburbs.
“I started with such enthusiasm,” the 36-year-old public relations director said in an interview. “I’m so frustrated with the process. I’m ready to buy, but I keep missing out.”
The source of her frustration — a shortage of 200,000 dwellings — is helping fuel Australian home prices, which are 82% higher than in the United States, and disproving investors such as Jeremy Grantham, who says they will fall 42% as interest rates rise in one of the world’s priciest home markets. Continue reading →