Our markets remain patchy with Sydney remaining the pace setter. Its comparable growth in the last 12 months in dollar terms is now the largest in recorded history. In determining this outcome we have adjusted past dollar growth period amounts by inflation. In the following table we present some interesting statistics. Table 1 – Boom…
Articles by John Edwards

John is Consulting Analyst for Onthehouse, Australia’s most comprehensive real estate portal, and Founder of Residex, a leading Australian research organisation providing quality information on the real estate market to government, financial institutions, valuers, real estate agents, accountants, solicitors and the general public. Visit www.OnTheHouse.com.au
As our ageing population threatens Australian society with unsustainable debt, it is time to ask the question: How can we help people live independently in retirement so they are less reliant on the government pension? It is clear that we need to come up with a solution to this looming problem. Unless we find ways…
Our ageing population threatens Australia with unsustainable debt. But before I discuss this, let’s see what’s happening in our property markets: In Table 1, below I present the growth rates and other statistics for our housing markets across Australia. The Sydney property market is continuing in its ‘boom’ growth path. The median value of all…
The Cash Rate is now 2.25 per cent and at a historic low. Personally, I was not on the side of a rate decrease as I did feel that the falling oil price and the lower Australian dollar was sufficient for stimulating demand in the Australian economy, and it was better to wait and see…
Don’t Believe all the Hype About Property Prices and the effect of negative Gearing. Abnormally high property prices, and the dramatic decrease of affordability in Australian housing markets, are spurring reactions. Negative gearing tax benefits, in drawing housing asset investors into the property market, is perceived to be crowding out first home buyers. Anyone who…
Here’s an end of year review of how our property markets performed in 2014 and some predictions for 5 and 8 year capital growth ahead. It has generally been a better year for our housing markets with Australia wide house price growth being some 2.64 per cent better than last year and unit, or medium…
There are two markets in Australia that, in reality, set the pace for housing markets across the country – Sydney and Melbourne. These two markets combined account for more than 50% of all dwellings in Australia. Graph 1 presents the current position for Australia’s main markets – Sydney and Melbourne, for houses and units. Graph…
It’s like a tale of two cities… New research released by Onthehouse.com.au revealed a polarised growth trend across Australia’s capital cities, with August data showing steady growth in Melbourne and Sydney’s housing markets, offset against falls in Brisbane and Perth. The findings show that the overall national growth rate has slowed significantly, with growth in…
The media is rife with talk of a housing price bubble – particularly in Sydney. Are these reports correct? In short, probably not. Are we going to see media stories about people getting into trouble with home buying? Probably, yes. Before I explain, let’s look at the August statistics, which reveal interesting information about Sydney…
There is an age old question that never seems to get answered in an honest way: What is the best investment; houses or shares?