Our rental markets are on the move. CoreLogic’s recently released Quarterly Rental Review shows the national rental index increased 1% over the month of March and 2.6% over the March quarter. Continuing the trend seen since the onset of the pandemic, regional dwelling rents outpaced growth in capital city dwelling rents over the quarter, with…
Mortgage rates are on the rise in Australia as funding costs and speculation about an impending RBA cash rate rise in the next few months puts pressure on banks. While there was no change in the cash rate at yesterday’s RBA meeting for April, rate hikes are coming. The big four bank economists have forecast…
New research from Commonwealth Bank and Deloitte reveals that financial abuse costs victims, and the Australian economy, more than $10 billion per year. The staggering research found that over 380,000 women and 240,000 men were subjected to financial abuse by a former or current partner in 2020. That is 1 in 30 women and 1…
A curious feature of the Australian tax system is “bracket creep”. Taxpayers whose income climbs by no more than prices (inflation) get no increase in their living standards. Instead, they see more and more of their income pushed into their highest tax brackets, or to even higher tax brackets. It means the government’s income from…
The value of Australia’s residential property market has surged to $9.9trillion after growing at the fastest annual pace on record. The Australian Bureau of Statistics said residential property prices rose 23.7 percent through 2021, meaning that the collective value of the wealth of property owners increased by $2 trillion in just one year alone! This…
Vocal market commentator and fund manager, Chris Joye wrote in the AFR in November last year that Australian house prices could fall by 15% to 25% after the RBA starts increasing interest rates (here’s a copy of that article). Of course, there are many property doomsayers that perpetually (and often inaccurately) predict property market crashes….
Australia’s latest inquiry into housing affordability and supply provides an update on some of the key issues weighing on homeownership across Australia. The report provides sixteen recommendations that can loosely be split into either supply or demand-side factors that influence housing prices. Across its 200+ pages, the report provides a valuable summary of the evidence…
Australia’s rich are getting richer according to The List, published by The Australian. Australia now has a massive 131 billionaires and their average net worth is $2.08 billion. In fact, the top 10 on The List are wealthier than ever before, led by two of the country’s most successful businesswomen who have changed the face…
The biggest question relating to the management of the economy right now has nothing to do with next week’s budget. It has everything to do with the Reserve Bank and the board meetings that will follow it. The question facing the board – the biggest there is when it comes to how the next few…
Since the coronavirus pandemic hit our shores, Australia’s property market has grown at an unprecedented rate. Closed borders, economic stimulus and low mortgage rates have driven demand for property sky high, with prices following suit. But now things are changing. Vaccination rates are high, lockdowns look set to be a thing of the past and…
