On the surface, the latest census tells us home ownership has changed little over the past five years. Between the 2016 census and this census in 2021, the share of Australians owning their homes remained steady at about 66%. The proportion of renting also changed little, climbing from 30% to 30.6%. But a closer look…
Rising interest rates and living costs can make paying off a home loan feel a bit harder in 2022. There’s a reason for this: the average homeowner was set to pay almost $2,000 more per year after the June RBA cash rate rise, according to the analysis from Finder. On top of that, everything from energy…
Where do the world’s millionaires migrate to? The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has become a millionaire magnet, with a projected 4,000 HNWIs (high net worth individuals) flowing into the country by the end of 2022. This influx of ultra-wealthy people is partly because of the country’s accommodating immigration policies that are specially tailored to attract…
What is happening to Australian household debt? What is RBA going to do about the interest rates to control inflation? These and other questions were raised and answered by Dr. Shane Oliver, Head of Investment Strategy and Economics and Chief Economist at AMP in his recent Insight. Introduction If Australia has an Achilles’ heel it’s…
More than 25 million people Australians sat down on (or around) Tuesday, August 20 last year to complete their census. Despite our borders still largely being closed, that was an 8.6% increase in the number of people completing the census in 2021 compared to the last time we broke the internet to do it (in…
There signs emerging that Aussie consumers are now preferring to spend their money on other things rather than cars and homes. Earlier this year a report published by CommSec, noted the slowdowns at the ‘top end’ of the housing and new vehicle markets. And the slowdown has continued since. This is insightful because in the…
Homeowners will face mortgage rates near 5.5% in a little over a year, according to a survey of 22 leading Australian economists. The Conversation’s 2022-23 forecasting survey predicts an increase in the Reserve Bank’s cash rate from its present 0.85% to a peak of 3.1% by next August. If fully passed on, the series of…
“Stagflation” is an ugly word for an ugly situation – the unpleasant combination of economic stagnation and inflation. The last time the world experienced it was the early 1970s when oil-exporting countries in the Middle East cut supplies to the United States and other supporters of Israel. The “supply shock” of a four-fold increase in…
Imagine today’s high inflation like a car speeding down a hill. In order to slow it down, you need to hit the brakes. In this case, the “brakes” are interest rate hikes intended to slow spending. However, some central banks are hitting the brakes faster than others. This graphic uses data from central banks and…
Since 2001 our research group has asked 2,000 Australians every year how they’re doing. Are they satisfied with their standard of living, their relationships, purpose in life, community connectedness, safety, health and future security? We’ve asked them through good times and bad, through wars and global financial downturns, fires and floods. And now through years…
