Unconventional Economist

Leith van Onselen is Chief Economist at the MB Fund and MB Super. He is also Chief Economist and co-founder of MacroBusiness. Leith has previously worked at the Australian Treasury, Victorian Treasury and Goldman Sachs.

Bad news for Australian housing affordability

At the end of 2024, CoreLogic (now Cotality) reported that Australia’s housing affordability—both to purchase and rent—was the worst on record, as illustrated by the graphic below.

Weekend reading and MB media releases

International Reading: Beginning tomorrow, Trump Tariffs Will Affect Nearly 75 Percent of US Food Imports.

New Zealand’s twin housing crashes

After experiencing one of the biggest booms during the pandemic, New Zealand home values have crashed back to 2019 levels.

Prefabricated homes won’t improve affordability

Prefabricated housing is often touted as a solution to Australia’s housing affordability crisis.

Imagine the dividends from a smaller Australia?

Tarric Brooker posted the following chart on Twitter (X) showing that the level of real Australian resource exports per capita has risen from around $3,500 per year in 1988 to just under $15,000 per year currently.

Builders: Albo’s housing target “remains a distant goal”

The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) released dwelling approvals data for June, which posted another solid rise.

Australian energy policy is back-to-front

Data from the Australian Energy Market Operator shows that wholesale electricity prices on the East Coast were 23% higher year-on-year in the June quarter.

The rental crisis is not over

At the end of 2024, CoreLogic (now Cotality) reported that Australians were paying a record share of their income to rent the median home.

Victorians robbed blind by loopy rail line

The 2023-24 Victorian Budget stated that it expects the federal government to provide an additional “matching contribution” of around $9.6 billion for the first stage of its Suburban Rail Loop (SRL) project.

Why should Australia negotiate another US FTA?

US President Donald Trump has flagged an increase in his ‘liberation day’ baseline tariff to between 15% and 20%.

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