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Wednesday, August 5, 2015
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Hospital garden dedicated to Cedric Davies
Cedric Davies was commemorated last week at the very garden he helped develop and grow at Mareeba Hospital. A brass plaque will forever commemorate the garden area at Mareeba Hospital’s west wing as the ‘Cedric Davies Memorial Garden’. The plaque was formally unveiled by Cedric’s family – wife June and son’s Cedric Jnr and Kevin Davies and Cairns and Hinterland Hospital and Health board Chair Bob Norman.
Turn to Page 3 for the full story.
House buying debate By Justin Fris
R
ECENT remarks from Federal Treasurer Joe Hockey about housing affordability sent many Australians into earnest debate amongst each other. “The starting point for a first home buyer is to get a good job that pays good money,” he said. “If you’ve got a good job and it pays good money and you have security in relation to that job, then you can go to the bank and you can borrow money and that’s readily affordable.”
These remarks have been taken on board by Core Logic RD research data analyst Tim Lawless, who has facilitated a nationwide housing affordability map. Freely accessible online – participants can enter their details (marital status and age range) into the database – which determines the likelihood of home or unit affordability within their local government jurisdiction. So how did the Tablelands fare as a region? Well, according to the housing affordability map, it depends on your personal circumstances, in-
come and preference. If you are single, aged between 25 and 34 and wish to purchase a unit, the results are as follows: Median Unit Value ($205,000), Median Gross Income ($45,564), Estimated Gross Income for purchase ($46,857) With an earnings difference of $1,293, on these medians, purchasing a unit would be very much nip and tuck. However, if you have those same set of circumstances and wish to purchase a house at median price, it is a longshot at best:
Median House Value ($315,000), Median Gross Income ($45,564), Estimated Gross Income for purchase ($72,000) With a massive earnings difference of $26,436 on these medians, a single person purchasing a house would find the going extremely tough. If you are a couple and wanting to purchase either a unit or a home as first buyers into the market – even with average incomes – you will find the going significantly easier. CONTINUED ON PAGE 3
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