Most days I take our dog Lincoln for a walk along the beach at the end of our street. This morning as we walked along the path I looked out at the water on the bay and saw strong waves thrashing onto the shore and thought to myself, “Wow, it’s windy out there.” As I…
Restrained spending has characterised the Albanese Government’s first federal budget. With Treasury forecasting annual headline inflation to hit 7.75% in the December quarter, key considerations for fiscal policy range include increasing productivity and moderating spending to minimise inflationary pressures. Various measures seek to increase labour force capacity, including upskilling workers through subsidised tertiary education, boosting…
Jim Chalmers’ first speech as treasurer outlines the enormity of the global economic situation – inflation, energy and supply chain issues, and a continuing war in Europe – and signposts that this is a budget that’s much more about what he’s taking away (or reallocating) than new announcements. It’s not often we get two budgets…
I always keep careful track of consumer confidence because it’s a good indicator of what’s ahead for our economy and property markets. And recently consumer confidence fell 2.4pts to 82.2 and is now a large 24.8pts below the same week a year ago. In addition, consumer confidence is now 8.1pts below the 2022 weekly average…
The recent release of 2021 Census data revealed a shocking “one million homes were unoccupied”. This statistic sent housing commentators, government agencies and policymakers into a spin. At a time of significant housing shortages, these extra million homes would surely make a big difference. They could provide housing for some homeless, ease the rental affordability…
House and unit rents across the combined capital continue to reach new record highs, according to Domain’s Rent Report for the September quarter. In fact, combined capital city house rents are up by 1.9% over the quarter, and 12.8% annually, while unit rents are up by 6.5% over the quarter, and 16.7% annually. Why is…
As Australia’s rental market continues to tighten to record levels, the pace of rental growth has started to ease, suggesting affordability constraints are having an impact. CoreLogic’s Quarterly Rental Review for Q3 2022, shows the national rental index had its smallest monthly increase this year, up 0.6% in the month to September and 2.3% over…
With interest rates rising, is now the time to shift your focus to cash flow? It is understandable as the cost of holding an investment property increases the more interest rates rise. For the best part of a decade, this has not been much of a concern for the average investor, with interest rates at…
At the board meeting on 4th October the RBA took the cash rate target 25 basis points higher, a lower increase than in the preceding four months. At 2.6%, the cash rate target is now at the highest level since July 2013 and surpasses the decade average prior to the onset of COVID-19 (which was…
Global stock markets are tanking on fears of recessions in the US, the UK and Europe, and the OECD is actually forecasting recessions in Europe. So is recession now inevitable in Australia? Not at all. The good news is there are several reasons to think Australia might be able to escape a global slide into…
