When thinking about a missive I often ask quiz myself about the topic. ‘Questions to myself’ so to speak. I also think that Q+A webinars and presentations work much better than the typical ‘I deliver, you listen’ approach. Anyhow, here are five questions and my answers to the current APRA move in an attempt to…
Call me biased, but I think Queensland is a great place to live and Brisbane property is a great place to invest. It’s no secret that Queensland offers a lifestyle you are hard-pressed to find elsewhere. With an appealing climate, boundless natural beauty, and with Brisbane, a more affordable option to other metropolitan areas such…
Australia’s unemployment rate rose 0.1% over September to 4.6%, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said. The nation lost 138,000 jobs over the month reflecting the labour market damage inflicted by lockdowns across New South Wales and Victoria. However, the topline unemployment rate does not tell the full story of Australia’s labour market, with workforce participation…
It’s time to look back and see how our auction markets performed over the last few months. There were 23,184 homes taken to auction across Australia’s capital cities over the three months to September 2021. This is down from 31,605 over the previous quarter, although increasing on the 14,216 auctions held over the September 2020…
There is a serious problem regarding home loans, which is affecting tens of thousands of Australians according to Doug Mathlin, founder of Smart Borrower. He believes too many Australians are paying too much interest over the life of their home loan. So he wrote a letter to Federal Treasurer Josh Frydenberg proposing what he said…
APRA – the financial regulator for the big banks – has again decided to interfere in housing markets. And once again the justification for this intervention is paper-thin. APRA has instructed banks to increase the interest rate risk buffer for new borrowers from 2.5% to 3.0%. Those applying for a new mortgage will now be…
The facts are in, the average Australian is getting richer. Australian total household wealth (net worth) rose by a record $735 billion or 5.8% to record a high of $13,433.7 billion in the June quarter. Despite all the challenges Covid has thrown at us wealth is up 19.7% on a year ago – the strongest…
How have lockdowns impacted our job market? According to National Australia Bank Market research watch, Australian job vacancies have fallen 9.8% during the lockdowns, but remain well above pre-pandemic levels and support expectations for a strong recovery. Job vacancies fell a seasonally adjusted 9.8% in the three months to August, but importantly remain 46% above…
Capital city housing markets have continued to produce strong results over September with robust buyer demand fuelling significant prices growth, despite the severe constraints of covid restrictions. Prices growth has generally soared over the past year with annual increases at the highest levels in 33 years. The recent strength of housing market activity and sharply…
In 2021 Australian house prices rose at their fastest rate in more than 17 years. As the world navigates its way out of the COVID-19 and we embrace the silver linings that have risen from the pandemic, the value of the Australian property market continues to shine. But what lies ahead? What changes to the…
