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@bushies.girl wrote:There are many smaller country towns/cities where house prices are very affordable, the down side is lack of employment. Things take time but if more people would consider moving to some of these towns, then more employment would be created and they would pay far less for their house than they do in the larger cities.
I hate to admit it, ... 
:.....but have to agree with bushiesgirl on this one. I live in a large regional town, just over an hours drive from the city. ( poorer state ) Perfectly livable houses are still for sale under $200,000. They are small, old and clapped, but still a good start for a youngster. We are already planning on how to get our 17 year old son into one of these houses. There is some employment options, but they are often fairly low paid jobs. Still if you havnt got the huge mortgage it may actually be easier to live in a place like this and the coastal lifestyle is great.
On the broader front I think there needs to be a change in attitudes into housing size and construction techniques. Australias houses are on average some of the largest per person in the world. The giant McMansions with the straight flat sides and the tiled roof without eves and cold tiled floors are not only highly energy inefficient, they are also ugly and wasteful. If people where allowed to build in alternative materials such as straw bale, use second hand materials etc. prices of construction could reduce dramatically. A used piece of 100 year old jarrah is going to be stronger, look better and last longer than plantation pine. An old heavy wooden door or used aluminium window can be purchased cheaply and will do the job just as well as one from a discount hardware store. Yet these items are highly discouraged by councils and society. Everything has to be new and plasticy and shiny.
These changes also require a change in societies attitudes about where we live. We need to decentralise. We have millions of people living like crowded sheep, in urban wastelands in our largest cities. Quality of life, social incusion, visual amenity and access to services is all reasonably poor in these places. If people where willing to live in a less populated place ( basically spread out a bit ) house and land prices would be more affordable and individuals quality of life would improve. With the internet, many people can earn a living anywhere as they are no longer tied to a building. ( think ebay sellers and online retail, architects, some health proffesionals, service managers, transport, storage and logistics etc. ).
All of this requires major changes in societies attitudes. While not trying to denigrate an obvious problem, the biggest restraint on affordable housing is what goes on in peoples heads.
