Just when it looked like confidence was returning to Australia’s housing market, the Reserve Bank has thrown another curveball. The latest ABS figures show home loans rising strongly – including a surge in first home buyer activity – suggesting buyers were starting to lean back into the market. But here’s the catch…those lending figures were…
Many people struggle with working out how to invest their money. Do they upgrade their home, contribute more to super, buy an investment property, invest in the share market, or something else? In fact, this common challenge was the reason that I decided to write my book, Investopoly. I knew that if people understood the…
SQM Research released its latest data on residential property vacancy rates. Australia’s national residential vacancy rate fell to 1.2% in January 2026, down from 1.4% in December The total number of residential vacancies declined to 37,630 dwellings, reflecting a post-holiday tightening in rental conditions as seasonal listings were absorbed. The January result reverses much of…
What really drives property prices in Australia? Ask 10 people and you’ll get 12 opinions, most shaped by headlines, hip-pocket pressure, or political spin. But property markets don’t run on noise. They’re powered by a complex web of economic levers, social trends, and psychological triggers. We are now at the beginning of a new year…
Warren Buffett reigns supreme as the greatest investor in history, with a personal fortune of around US$132 billion. Many years ago I learned that if you want to succeed in business or investing and get rich, it pays to study Buffett. And the great news is Buffett is happy to share his knowledge. Over the…
If a picture paints a thousand words, then this collection of charts should do a pretty good job of painting the landscape as it affects our economy and our property markets. Each month the RBA summarises macroeconomic and financial market trends in Australia by providing a detailed chart pack. World Economy Australia’s economy doesn’t operate in…
SQM Research’s Weekly Asking Prices Index for the week ending 27 January 2026 showed mixed price movements across capital cities, though annual growth remains strong. Nationally, asking prices eased slightly over the month for houses (-0.3%), while unit prices rose 1.3%, with combined dwellings broadly flat (-0.1%) but 11.4% higher year-on-year. Sydney house asking prices…
Australian home values rose by 0.8% in January according to Cotality’s Home Value Index, a subtle acceleration from the 0.6% increase recorded in December. Sydney and Melbourne are weighing on the headline numbers, recording a 0.2% and 0.1% increase respectively in January; a marginal pickup following the slight falls recorded in December. Every month, investors,…
If you are thinking about buying, selling, upgrading, or investing in property over the course of 2026, you are probably wondering what property prices will do this year. In this blog, I revisit the evidence-based factors that matter most: loan volumes, borrowing capacity, interest rate expectations, interstate migration, and where each capital city sits in its cycle. I also explain why…
Australian home values rose by 0.8% in January according to Cotality’s Home Value Index, a subtle acceleration from the 0.6% increase recorded in December. While every capital city and broad rest of state region recorded an increase in home values through the month, the start of the year returned a mixed result. Sydney and Melbourne…
