Housing has emerged as a pivotal issue in the upcoming federal election, with housing policies taking centre stage in the political debate and dominating discussion among voters. And rightly so. An imbalance between housing supply and demand, alongside cost-of-living pressures, high interest rates and low savings has pushed the cost of owning or renting a…
After a turbulent few years in the Australian property market, we’re now seeing a consistent pattern emerge—price growth has continued for the third month in a row. According to Ray White’s Chief Economist, Nerida Conisbee, property prices will continue to increase. She explains: “The biggest driver of this price growth continues to be a lack…
The baby boom was a period that saw a surge in birth rates alongside a dramatic decline in death rates due to advances in medicine and public health. This combination led to rapid population growth in many high-income countries, which influenced their societies for generations. However, many other aspects of the baby boom are less…
In today’s podcast, Stuart Wemyss and I discuss the complexities of managing underperforming property investments, and how to decide when and if you should sell your property. We explore everything from the emotional traps that can cloud our judgment to strategic considerations like tax implications and portfolio rebalancing. Takeaways Investing is a long-term journey, often…
Have you ever stopped to think how far Australia has come in the past 60 years? In 1966, we were a nation of 11 million, fresh off switching from pounds, shillings, and pence to dollars and cents. That transition was more than monetary. It symbolised our shift from being a British outpost to finding our…
National rents rose 1.7% over the March quarter, up from 0.4% in the December quarter, according to CoreLogic’s latest Quarterly Rental Review. However, this uptick is largely seasonal, with the 1.7% rise in rents over the three months to March marking the slowest Q1 growth since 2019 (1.0%) and is a full percentage point below…
Yes, you read that right — even in the middle of a cost-of-living crisis, there are still places around Australia where owning a home can be cheaper than renting. But (and it’s a big but), you need to know where to look, and you need to act strategically. The media’s been busy with doom and…
Investor behaviour matters a lot. In fact, it probably matters more than skill. To understand why this is true, first, you need to understand one fundamental concept: Investment returns and investor returns are almost always different. In 1999, I was working diligently doing my job as an investment advisor or financial planner (I was never sure what…
We’re living in interesting times with share markets tumbling, consumer confidence spluttering, and talking about countries falling into recession and the thought that central banks will need to drop interest rates significantly to stimulate economies around the world. Obviously, it’s still early days; however, over the last week, several economic indicators have been released, which…
If you’ve wandered down the cereal aisle recently, you might have noticed something peculiar. Between the giant, value-packed boxes of Home Brand Cereals and the small, premium gourmet granolas, there’s a glaring gap where Weet-Bix, the staple breakfast of middle-class Australia, once took pride of place. Those mid-sized boxes, the ones we grew up with,…