Michael has been once again voted Australia’s leading property investment advisor by the readers of ‘Your Investment Property Magazine’, but he’s not a theorist… He has been successfully investing in property since 1971 and is a leading property commentator and Australia’s most widely read property investment blogger. Join over 115,000 others who get their updates from Michael and his group of expert guest bloggers and benefit from their perspective.
The federal budget dropped last week and, if you believe the loudest voices in the room, property investment in Australia is finished. I don’t buy that for a second, but I do think this changes the game enough that investors need to think more carefully than they have for years. I’ve been watching governments tinker…
A billion – in Australia – is $1,000,000,000. You see this amount written everywhere these days. You cannot escape it. It was brought home to me a few weeks back, whilst driving through New South Wales. Road work signs proudly announced $2.3 billion worth of construction here, another $1.7 billion there. Governments love to announce…
Every time the housing affordability debate heats up, the same statistic gets wheeled out : the price-to-income ratio. You’ll see headlines declaring that housing is now “more unaffordable than ever” because the median home price is eight or nine times the average household income. At first glance, that sounds alarming. And it’s easy to see…
SQM Research’s Weekly Asking Prices Index for the week ending 26 May 2026 showed prices stalling nationally, with the major capital cities now in monthly decline. Nationally, house asking prices were unchanged over the month, while unit asking prices increased 0.7%. Combined dwelling asking prices rose a marginal 0.1%, leaving prices 10.4% higher year-on-year. However,…
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If you’ve been following the headlines, you’d be forgiven for thinking property markets rise and fall on the back of interest rates, government policy, or the latest migration numbers. But when you step back and look at what really drives long-term property performance, a different story starts to emerge. In fact, the biggest driver of…
Cotality’s national Home Value Index was flat in May, with the housing cycle continuing to weaken across most markets. Beneath the flat national result, Sydney and Melbourne are leading the downturn, with dwelling values falling by 0.9% and 0.8% respectively in May, to be 2.1% and 2.9% below their cyclical highs in November last year….
There’s an old saying that the easiest tax to sell is one that only applies to “wealthy people.” Most Australians won’t complain too loudly if Canberra says it is closing a loophole used by high-income families, business owners or investors. But history shows that when governments start tinkering with the rules around wealth, tax and…
Have you ever wondered what the most common major problems are in life? I have. I spent 15 years studying the rich and the poor (Rich Habits Study) and found that there were 12 frequent big problems almost everyone has to contend with: Health Problems Financial Problems Family Problems Neighbour Problems Home Ownership Problems Car…
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The property market has just taken an interesting turn. After a strong run, we’re now seeing signs that higher interest rates, affordability pressures and buyer uncertainty are starting to bite. But as always, the headline numbers don’t tell the full story. Some markets are slowing, some are still showing resilience, and underneath it all we…
After a remarkable run-up in property values over recent years, Australia’s housing market is showing clear signs of moderation Home prices nationally were flat in May, after a modest decline in April, according to the latest PropTrack data. Home price growth has clearly stalled as the effects of this year’s consecutive rate hikes flow through….
