Compared to the rest of the world, income inequality is not particularly high in Australia, nor is it getting much worse – until you include housing. Rising housing costs have dramatically widened the gap between what Australians on high and low incomes can afford. Rising home prices paired with plummeting rates of homeownership are driving…
With bushfire season starting across much of the nation, it’s time to prepare rental properties and check they are adequately insured. Bushfire. Just a mere mention of the word strikes fear in the hearts and minds of most Australians and none more so than those living in bushfire-prone areas. The risk of bushfire is ever-present…
![The most innovative countries in the world in 2022 [Infographic]](https://cdn.propertyupdate.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/global-economy-270x200.jpg)
Since 2000, global investment in research and development (R&D) has tripled to $2.4 trillion. R&D spending is also casting a wider global net. In 1960, the U.S. made up nearly 70% of global R&D spending, and by 2020 this had fallen to 30%. From job creation and public health to national security and industrial competitiveness,…
Many of us are drowning in “stuff”. To find space for all our possessions, we are paying off-site storage companies. Australians spend an average of A$163 per month on self-storage, one recent survey found. The number one item stored in these facilities is furniture. Other items we cannot fit in our houses include appliances and…
Australians desperately need more affordable homes, particularly homes for rent. The prospect of home ownership is rapidly receding for many people, especially younger generations (as the chart below shows). More people than ever are being forced into a tight rental market. Making things worse, many traditional providers of residential rentals, the “mum and dad” investors,…
![Which countries have the highest inflation? [Infographic]](https://cdn.propertyupdate.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/inflation-270x200.jpg)
Inflation is surging nearly everywhere in 2022. Geopolitical tensions are triggering high energy costs, while supply-side disruptions are also distorting consumer prices. The end result is that almost half of countries worldwide are seeing double-digit inflation rates or higher. With new macroeconomic forces shaping the global economy, the above infographic shows countries with the highest…
Australia’s first multi-city region, the Six Cities Region, is being developed in New South Wales. A multi-city region, also known as a mega-region, establishes an integrated network of globally and locally connected cities. The Six Cities Region spans the Lower Hunter and Greater Newcastle City, Central Coast City, Illawarra-Shoalhaven City, Western Parkland City, Central River…
For people living in cosmopolitan urban centres, it’s easy to overestimate the prevalence of immigrants around the world. The median proportion of foreign-born people in all countries is just over 5%. In countries with a population greater than one million, only four are majority foreign-born, and only eight surpass the one-third mark. Here are the…
Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) services have dramatically changed the landscape of personal lending, largely by being easy to access and not charging interest – thus avoiding national credit laws. In the 2021-22 financial year, according to data from the Reserve Bank of Australia, the number of active BNPL accounts in Australia rose from 5…
What are Aussies searching for in Google this 2022? Well, Google released its annual list of Year in Search revealing what the nation has been looking up online for this year. The results showed that the top searches reflect a year full of change and hardship, with celebrity deaths and international war top of mind…
