James Carville, allegedly, helped win the Presidency for Bill Clinton in 1992 with a sign in the campaign’s headquarters saying, “The economy, stupid”. Well maybe there should be a sign saying – “Demographics, stupid” – on our desks as well. Many in the economic, town planning and property space, including investors, tend to ignore or…
The average floor area of a new free-standing house in Australia is 254 square metres. Our homes are much larger than those within Europe and even many American cities. Why has this occurred? It is simply economics. The actual land component of a new house and land package is very high and fixed. And these…
People appear to be ageing in place. The latest statistics suggest that homeowners are staying in the same digs, on average, for 11 years. This is up from 7 years a decade ago. That’s a 59% increase. My chart shows that this increase is widespread. The high and rising transaction costs plus limited affordable housing…
What is Australia’s PIN CODE? You know that 4 digit number that you need to unlock your phone or get the credit card to work. For mine it is 1 1 1 1 See the graphic below. It shows the likely distribution of a variety of important housing-related things over the next decade. The simple things…
How low can they go? Most of those working in the dismal science are calling for several more drops in the RBA cash rate, with some calling out a 0%. Interestingly many of these same cats were talking about interest rate rises only 12 to 18 months ago. The chart shows that falling interest rates…
I keep getting emails telling me about how much more affordable housing has become now that interest rates are declining. Yet the evidence is wafer thin, with more often than not, an index chart attached to the spruik which needs a magnifying glass and a lot of imagination to see any actual improvement in housing…
Our cities are going to get bigger. We shouldn’t waste our time trying to stop this. So this week I look at the projected increase in the number of households in Australia. I have included two tables below. Key points The forecast is that we will see the creation of an additional 1.56 million households…
It was all doom and gloom in the lead up to the federal election and now, apparently, the housing market is set to improve, with some predicting another boom. Hmmm. For mine nothing has really changed as the Australian housing market still faces the same range of issues. 10 Things Future Housing List I like…
“The roads are clogged; the buses and trains are full. The schools are taking no more enrolments. I hear what you are saying. I hear you loud and clear.” Scott Morrison, Australian Prime Minister, November 2018. In March this year the PM announced a 15% cut in the ‘official migration ceiling’ from 190,000 to 160,000…
Discussions about this topic focus too much on the price of the real estate and its daily movement, rather than what should be discussed – household income. What we earn, particularly in disposable terms (minus tax), is equally important in determining what we can and cannot afford; as is the price of property. And the…
