Governments regularly announce rezonings capable of accommodating thousands of additional homes. But zoning does not install a sewer, enlarge a substation, upgrade an intersection or construct a stormwater system. Australia’s housing debate has concentrated heavily on approvals. The next supply constraint is increasingly the gap between land that can theoretically accommodate housing and land that…
Australian home values have now fallen for seven months in a row, auction clearance rates are stuck in the 40s and some economists are describing this as the biggest property downturn in 40 years. So it’s no surprise that the question I’m being asked most by investors right now is when it will all end….
Most investors think good investing is about finding more things to say yes to. More opportunities, more asset classes, more products in the mix. In my experience, the opposite is true. The investors who build the most wealth over a lifetime are the ones with the discipline to say no, repeatedly, to almost everything that…
That headline stopped me in my tracks… … And it should concern every Australian. In a country as wealthy as ours, that number represents far more than a housing statistic. It speaks to economic hardship, family breakdown, poor health, mental illness, domestic violence and, increasingly, the inability of ordinary working Australians to find somewhere secure…
Gambling has long been a favourite pastime for Aussies and according to a report from Gambling Statistics Australia, we spend an average of $1.9 billion on lotto every year. Of the 6.8 million Australians who like to take a punt, about 76% of them play the lottery. Who is buying all these tickets? When you do…
Are you looking to buy a home but feeling uncertain about what lies ahead? Investors may not want to hear that prices are falling, but if you are a home buyer, that should be music to your ears. The next three to six months could present a rare opportunity and set you up for decades,…
Downsizing sounds simple enough: sell the family home, buy something smaller and free up some money for retirement. However, the financial outcome is not always as attractive as people expect. Stamp duty, selling expenses, moving costs and body corporate fees can consume a meaningful portion of the equity released. There is also an emotional side…
Talk to an agent who has just listed a property in a changing market and you’ll probably hear some version of the same thing: the phone is ringing differently from three months ago. Enquiry levels have changed, buyers are behaving differently at open homes, and offers are coming in at numbers that might have seemed…
Victorian landlords could be required to hold a licence and face a three-strike rule that would strip them of their right to rent out properties under a Greens proposal unveiled ahead of the upcoming state election. While the plan aims to hold landlords accountable for breaching their obligations, this ridiculous proposal would add another layer…
Tomorrow, Tuesday 3 November, the Reserve Bank announces its next cash-rate decision. Four increases this year have taken the target to 4.60%. Another quarter-point increase would make it 4.85%. The latest inflation figures give the Bank reason to remain uncomfortable. Headline CPI reached 4.3% in September, while underlying inflation was 3.6%. I expect the annual…
