August 21, 2023
Inflation: An increase in the overall price level of an economy, often measured in terms of CPI (consumer price index) via the changing cost of a ‘basket of goods’ over time. Down from a 7.8% peak earlier this year, inflation now sits at 6%. A definite improvement – but still well outside the 2-3% range that the reserve bank is tasked with maintaining.
(RBA, 2023)
Understanding the major effects of this upon the economy is simple enough. Goods and services are getting more expensive, and our purchasing power is eroding, as the ‘value’ of a dollar declines.
August 18, 2023
The Australian housing market is an incredibly complex entity, shaped by an interplay of various factors that create distinct trends and patterns. One factor that often goes unnoticed, but plays a vital role in understanding the housing market, is the average household size.
Over the past few decades, the average number of people living in each Australian household has steadily declined from 2.9 in the mid-1980s, driven by factors such as an aging population, falling fertility and marriage rates, and higher household incomes.
August 11, 2023
Join us as a we take a quick look at the Australian property market throughout July 2023. We'll point out the highs, the lows, and everything in between across our capital cities. We'll also delve into the forces that have been driving these changes and share our thoughts on where we are heading in the months ahead.
August 10, 2023
In the previous article, we began to explain the yield curve by looking at the mechanics of bonds and bond markets – start there if you haven’t already!
In this article, we’ll tackle the yield curve, and examine what it can tell us about the likelihood of a recession.
Pulling everything together from before, we arrive at the yield curve.
August 10, 2023
Recently, there’s been no end of provocative and alarming headlines written about the Australian economy, with words like ‘crisis’ and ‘recession’ readily thrown around.
A major driver of this concern is that Australia’s yield curve has inverted – something that hadn’t happened previously since 2008.
But what makes this a big deal?
And what is a yield curve anyway?
To break this down, we first need to understand how government bonds work and what makes them an important component of the economy.
August 8, 2023
As we venture further into the digital age, a seismic shift in the conventional work setup — from traditional office environments to remote settings — is reshaping the landscape of our society and, by extension, the real estate market.
In today’s article, we’re investigating a few of the defining trends at play, and discussing what they could mean for us as property investors.
August 8, 2023
Recent years have seen an incredible explosion in the popularity of ‘short-stay’ rentals. Sites like Stayz, Vrbo and Airbnb have made it extremely simple for investors to experiment with short term renting in favour of conventional, long-term, rental agreements.
August 8, 2023
Housing affordability can be thought of as the relationship between average expenditure on housing and average household incomes.
In an ideal world, household income and expenditure on housing would increase similarly over time due to inflation, resulting in fairly stagnant affordability. But of course, we know that this hasn’t been the case for Australia!
July 31, 2023
Are property developers the heroes or villains when it comes to the housing affordability crisis in Australia? It's a question that sparks lively debates and passionate opinions.
The Supply Challenge:
Picture this: a high demand for housing and a limited supply. This imbalance drives prices up, making it increasingly challenging for aspiring homeowners to enter the market.
July 31, 2023
Are you feeling the pinch of rising interest rates in the property market?
The RBA’s ongoing rate hike cycle has sent shockwaves throughout the economy and sparked broader debate regarding the effectiveness of their monetary policy approach. In the March edition of Deloitte Access Economics’ Business Outlook report, author Stephen Smith was critical of the RBA's strategy, arguing that a traditional rate hike approach is not the answer to what is currently driving inflation.
In this article, we investigate what inflation is, discuss what makes it so difficult to solve, and examine whether our friends at Deloitte may have a point!
