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…
We all know that jobs growth, wages growth, population growth and economic growth help supports our property markets. So here’s a quick summary of the future of jobs growth in Australia: 885,000 new jobs are expected to be created across Australia over the next five years 85% of which are likely to be in NSW,…
In turbulent circumstances it often pays dividends to set the appropriate tone upfront. The Australian housing market – as seen through the news and other media – will mostly be a depressing place in 2019. And if not disheartening, then contradictory at best. The headlines will tell us about falling prices; rising costs; declining sales;…
Here’s 10 things for 2019 1. Politics. I don’t want to wax lyrical here, just to say there is likely to be a May federal election. So, it will be a year of two halves, with stuff-all business wise happening until the election – and post the event and regardless of result – things economic…
How long does it take you to commute to work? Is it really taking longer today than it did 5 years ago? The Grattan Institute recently released another great report on Australia’s urban landscape. To read the 87-page report go here. But for those of you that are time short, I have pulled together 10 things you need…
Much is written about population growth and its positive impact on most things economic. But there is also sting in that tale. Despite the intelligentsia telling us the opposite, the number of vehicles per capita, is on the rise in Australia. It is currently 776 vehicles per 1,000 bodies. It was 723 a decade ago and…