Australia’s property market may not be heading for a dramatic downturn, but the latest auction results are a timely reminder that higher interest rates, affordability pressures and shifting buyer sentiment are beginning to reshape market dynamics. According to Domain, auction clearance rates over the past five weeks are at levels not seen since the 2022…
The Federal budget on May 12 changed the rules for property investors in ways that most people are still working through, and Westpac’s economics team has now put some concrete numbers around the likely market impact. If you’ve been wondering how to think about the combination of the tax changes and rising interest rates, I’ll…
They’ve never known life without smartphones. They grew up through lockdowns, climate anxiety, social media algorithms and a housing crisis that has made the traditional Australian dream feel increasingly out of reach. And while many older Australians still dismiss Gen Z as entitled, distracted or unrealistic, they’re missing something important. This generation is already reshaping…
Australia’s property market has just been hit by a fresh wave of uncertainty. Last week, Dr Andrew Wilson and I discussed the Federal Government’s major property tax changes, and as we said at the time, these changes matter because they alter the rules for investors, but they don’t magically fix the deeper problems in our…
It feels like the year has barely begun, and already our housing markets are under pressure. An interest rate rise. Talk of tax reform. Political instability here and overseas. If you only listened to the headlines, you’d think the foundations of Australia’s property market were starting to crack. They’re not. In fact, we’ve just been…
Before the federal budget lands, I think every Australian property investor needs to understand what happened across the Tasman over the last four years, because New Zealand didn’t just debate whether to remove negative gearing and interest deductibility from property investors. They actually did it! And then, after watching rents hit record highs, investors bail…
Every few years something happens in the property market that spooks investors into thinking the game has changed permanently. A new lending restriction. A stamp duty hike. A credit squeeze. And now, the most significant overhaul of property tax settings in decades – the removal of negative gearing for established dwellings and the replacement of…
There’s a lot of noise around property at the moment. Whenever governments start talking about tax changes, trusts, capital gains, inheritance, or “fairness,” investors understandably sit up and take notice. And so they should. The proposed Budget changes now being discussed could have important implications for property investors, business owners, families, and anyone trying to build…
Fresh data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics released today shows the unemployment rate climbed to 4.5% in April, up from 4.3% in March, with employment falling by around 19,000 people in the month. The unemployment rate is now at a level above Federal Treasury and the Reserve Bank’s forecasts, and that’s before the full…
You learn some lessons about money from books. Others you only learn the hard way – through experience, mistakes, and time. Looking back over several decades of investing and wealth creation, there are quite a few things I wish someone had explained to me earlier in life. Not because the information wasn’t available. I read…
