Coolum Beach + Yaroomba

After we left the Toyota dealership, pretty amazed by the prices of new cars over here ( positively surprised that is ) we went to Coolum Beach where we saw our first glimpse of the ocean.

IT IS BEAUTIFUL ! It's amazing, the water is so clear that you can see 10 meters deep and it's a beautiful light blue color. Beautiful white sandy beaches complete this picturesque image. It's truly amazing. Kim says it looks like Capetown in South Africa ( a place she loves ). We spotted whales in the distance, it really is like living in a dream. This is when we remembered what we all did it for and it was like getting our reward for all our hard work and 1.5 years waiting.

After Coolum Beach we went to Yaroomba where went to see this home which proved to be a real dump. It would take at least 100.000 to make it liveable and we didn't like the neighborhood. The electric wires in the middle of the ocean view are terrible and there were some other issues with a homeless man living under the house ( we went to see the house without notifying the owner or the real estate agent ). We decided not to proceed with it and not even make an offer because quite frankly the property ( if you can still call it that ) was worth more in the region of 100.000 than 629.000. We decided to rent for the first 6 months and we would look for some nice rental places on the internet before we would even consider buying a place.

Quite frankly, Ozzie houseprices are completely out of synch with reality. Houses here start at a minimum of 400.000 ( a complete dump in a reasonable neighborhood or a new house in a complete dump ) but if you want anything nice, you'll be spending around 750.000. Now, that 750.000 dollar house, you can RENT for 300 per week.

Quick maths tell anyone ( except an ozzie ) that renting is MUCH better financially than buying. The root of this problem is CGT and GST tax returns and some other things like the "australian dream of owning your own home".

TIP : Don't buy a home until the houseprices dropped at least 50%. Or buy it now at a 50% discount, whichever suits you :)