Weekend reads - Must read articles from the last week

There are more interesting articles, commentaries and analyst reports on the Web every week than anyone could read in a month.

Each Saturday morning I like to share some of the ones I’ve read during the week.

The weekend will be over before you know it, so enjoy some interesting reading.

How does Australia’s housing boom values compare with previous highs?

How does the current market compare to previous highs?

This article from Realestate.com.au looks at what’s going on.

Dumbfounded punters from outside (and inside) the property industry are collectively asking; “Has the market ever been this crazy before?”

On the surface, Australia’s real estate market appears to be going nuts. National dwelling values are skyrocketing, realestate.com.au is reporting that searches are soaring and that days on market are dropping. It’s got all the ingredients of an insane property boom.

To put this mad market into perspective, CoreLogic’s head of Australian research, Eliza Owen, has crunched the numbers to compare just how today’s movements compare with previous cycles.

“Low mortgage rates, a swift economic recovery – which has spurred consumer sentiment – and low listing volumes have catapulted national housing values to new record highs,” she said.

For March alone, the CoreLogic national home value index showed national values had increased 2.8 per cent, therefore placing values 5.6 per cent above the market peak in October 2017.

The change in capital city dwelling values from previous peaks, and the number of months it has taken for values to surpass the previous peak. Picture: CoreLogic

“Comparing current capital city values with previous peaks adds some perspective to the current upswing – particularly in Perth and Darwin, where values remain substantially below their record highs from 2014,” Ms Owen said, adding that her research highlighted how our various capital cities can behave very differently from one another.

It took Sydney dwelling values 44 months to reach a new record high.

While values lifted 8.1 per cent since the COVID-induced decline (hitting rock bottom in September 2020), the total value of housing is only 2.6 per cent higher than the previous peak in July 2017.

Ms Owen said that back then, a price downturn was likely created by changes to home loan lending conditions.

“Cash rate reductions, along with a relaxation in borrower serviceability assessment rules, spurred the start of a recovery trend through 2019. COVID-19 interrupted this upswing, but a recovery in economic conditions, and increased consumer confidence, has pushed values above the previous peak,” she explained.

Read the full article here.

Skilled vacancies DOUBLE….boom!

In this Blog, Pete Wargent looks at the current vacancy boom.

Fairly conclusive: job vacancies exploded another 19 per cent higher (or +38,200 advertisements) to 238,700 in March.

Spectacular numbers which make it increasingly difficult to paint a gloomy picture of the Aussie outlook.

Vacancies have basically doubled everywhere, and then some in many case.

Read the full article here.

The cost of renting a house in Australia is now more expensive than ever

Is the cost of renting a house in Australia is now more expensive than ever?

This article from Domain.com.au looks at what’s going on.

The cost of renting a house in Australia has reached record levels with prices rising in almost every corner of Australia since the pandemic, new data reveals.

The latest Domain Rent Report, released on Thursday, shows the median rental asking price for house rents has soared nationally to a high of $471 per week – up 4 per cent in the year to March 2021.

The country’s rental market has made a “remarkable” recovery, experts say: rents have continued to climb since last year as the rise of tree-changers and working from home during the pandemic pushed tenants to all corners of the country.

The tide has turned in several smaller cities too, recording massive jumps in rents after years of flat growth.

But there is one exception. Melbourne, which endured the toughest coronavirus lockdowns of 2020, is on track to become the cheapest capital city to rent in the nation.

Both its house and unit rent prices have declined over the past 12 months, with the largest falls driven mainly by plunging unit rents in inner-city locations.

House rents are also declining and likely to fall further, Domain’s senior research analyst Nicola Powell said.

“Tightening rental conditions in Adelaide and Perth could push rents higher than Melbourne in the coming months, which would make Melbourne the most affordable city [in which] to rent,” she said.

Perth house rents recorded a whopping 14.7 per cent rise to a median of $430 – the highest asking rents since 2015.

In Darwin, house rents jumped 14.6 per cent to $550 – the highest asking rents since 2017.

Dr Powell said with international borders still closed and overseas migration at a near-standstill, the recovery was “remarkable”.

Read the full article here.

Renting, buying, or rentvesting: Which is better financially?

Between renting, buying, or rentvesting – which works best in today’s market?

This article from News.com.au looks at what’s going on in the market.

The growth in house prices in recent years has been staggering, with the average property price growth in major hubs like Sydney up over 400 per cent since the ’90s.

Today, many would-be homebuyers feel their dream home is out of reach, and more and more Aussies are looking at alternative strategies to work their way up the property ladder.

‘Rentvesting’ – buying an investment property in your budget and renting your dream home – is a strategy that has been around for years but with the post COVID property boom, this strategy is getting more attention.

For Aussie Millennials the classic strategy of home ownership is drilled into us from a young age – in our parent’s generation, buying your own home was just ‘what you did’.

But, while the ability to have your own place so you can paint a feature wall your favourite shade of tangerine is appealing, many are wondering if the half-a-century old strategy of buying a home and dealing with a massive mortgage is really a smart play.

To answer that question, there’s some key things you need to know.

Paying rent is not dead money

A commonly held money belief is that when you pay rent, you’re just paying someone else’s mortgage or spending dead money.

This is only half true.

Yes, your rent payments are likely to be used to pay your landlord’s mortgage.

But, because the average rent is substantially lower than average mortgage and other costs on the same property, the alternative to buying yourself isn’t just renting the same place – but instead renting and having additional savings leftover.

Read the full article here.

35 Morning Journal Prompts to Inspire the Day Ahead of You

An article on www.developgoodhabits.com looks at

35 Morning Journal Prompts

Writing in a morning journal is helpful because it can help you reflect on not only what happened yesterday but also set you up for success during the day ahead.

Some of the top prompts that you may want to follow if you are thinking about writing in your morning journal include:

What did you overcome yesterday that made you stronger? How is that going to help you today?

What is the one thing you are most grateful for yesterday that you will carry forward to today?

What is the biggest challenge that you are going to face during the day ahead? How are you going to overcome it?

What is your favorite song right now? Why do you think that song is stuck in your head at the moment?

What is the one thing that people do not know about you that you want to share with the world today?

What is one thing that made you laugh yesterday? Why did it make you laugh?

If you have time today, what is the one place you would like to go? Why do you think you want to go there so badly?

What did you do yesterday that inspired you? How is that going to serve you well today?

What is the one thing in your life that makes you the happiest right now? Why do you think that is?

What is one future goal that you are working toward? How are you going to get there?

What is the one thing you are going to do today that is solely for yourself? Why do you think that is important for your work-life balance?

What is one bad habit that you are working hard to break? How are you going to place yourself in a position to break that habit?

What are your most positive qualities? What type of impact do you think those qualities have on others?

Is there a specific challenge that you are working to overcome? How are you going to accomplish that goal?

When you look to the future, what do you think about? Why do you think you are focused on that?

What is the one thing yesterday that stressed you out the most? How are you going to be able to deal with that stress?

What are the top things that make you smile? What are you going to do to force yourself to smile today?

What are the biggest victories you have had recently regarding your mental health? What are some of the disappointments you have experienced?

What are you going to do to make sure that you have time to eat today? How are you going to set aside time for yourself?

How do you feel right now? What are you going to do to protect your mood? What are you going to do to prevent yourself from getting down?

Who are the most important people in your support system? How can you improve your support system?

Write about someone you love. Why do you cherish them so much? Is there anything you can do to spend more time with that person?

Forgive yourself for something. What are you going to do to forgive yourself? How is this going to help you move forward in your life?

When have you been at your happiest this month? What are you going to do to help yourself stay that happy during the remainder of the week?

What is the one thing that made you sad yesterday? Why do you think that one thing brought you down?

Make time to exercise today. What are your goals for exercise? Why is exercise important for your overall health?

What do you need most today? Why do you think you need it? How are you going to get more of that one thing in your life?

What is the one thing that you are most excited about today? Why do you think that is making you excited?

What is the one thing that you need more of in your life right now? What are you going to do to get more of that one thing in your life?

What are the things that you are most grateful for today? List the top three items.

If you are going to do one thing to help someone else out, what is that going to be? How are you going to make time to make that happen?

I’m going to say thank you to one person today. Who are you going to say thank you to? Why do they deserve your gratitude?

At the end of the day today, how do you want to feel? What are you going to do to help yourself get there?

What are you going to do today to make it a little bit easier to accomplish everything on your to-do list?

One of the obstacles that I am anticipating today is… ? I am going to deal with this obstacle by doing what?

Read the full article here

About Michael Yardney

Michael is a director of Metropole Property Strategists who help their clients grow, protect and pass on their wealth through independent, unbiased property advice and advocacy. He's once again been voted Australia's leading property investment adviser and one of Australia's 50 most influential Thought Leaders. His opinions are regularly featured in the media. Visit Metropole.com.au