Australian Property

The gall of Treasurer Jim Chalmers is unbelievable. Following the Reserve Bank of Australia’s (RBA) decision to cut the official cash rate on Tuesday, Chalmers gave a “blunt” warning to landlords to pass the mortgage interest savings onto tenants.

This week, SQM Research revealed that Australia’s rental crisis reignited, with the national vacancy rate falling to 1.0% in January, down 0.1% year-on-year.

Policymakers want to force Australians to live in high-rise apartment towers, assuming it will improve affordability. Their assumption is incorrect, as data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) shows that building a shoebox apartment is more expensive than building a detached house.

The pump-priming of Australia’s housing market is in full swing.

Only ten years late.

Last week, SQM Research released its January vacancy report, revealing that the national vacancy rate declined to just 1.0%, down 0.1% from January 2024.

Last week, Labor Treasurer Jim Chalmers announced that Australia’s financial regulators would be required to loosen home lending rules for millions of Australians with student loans.

Financial markets and most economists believe that the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) will lower the official cash rate by 0.25% on Tuesday, followed by three additional cuts this year.

Australians are continually told that the nation’s housing crisis is a supply issue.

Australia’s rental crisis appeared to be easing after CoreLogic and the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) reported a marked easing in rental growth.

Property analysts believe the ‘Fear of Missing out’ (FOMO) will engulf Australia’s housing market once the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) cuts interest rates.

Australians are drowning in mortgage debt. We have among the most indebted households in the world. Mortgage payments also take up a record share of Australian household disposable income. On Wednesday, the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) released housing finance data for Q4 2024.

Ross Gittins claims, “The nation is finally coming to grips with home affordability”.

Beware the dangers of central planning.

Australia’s housing market is experiencing a mild correction, led by Sydney and Melbourne. Over the past quarter, dwelling values across Australia’s five major capital cities have declined by 0.7%, driven by Melbourne (-1.9%) and Sydney (-1.5%).

Realestate.com.au posted an article claiming that the price of vacant land in Victoria has risen above the cost of established homes, creating a major barrier to the Albanese government’s housing targets.

New data from Ray White, published in News.com.au, suggests that property investors continue to flee Victoria following state government land tax hikes.

Alan Kohler penned another article decrying Australia’s housing crisis, which he argues is driven by “lip service, hypocrisy, and an investment culture”.

The unthinking tank of corruption, The Grattan Institute, has coughed up another beauty today.

CoreLogic’s daily dwelling values index continues to fall, dragged lower by Sydney and Melbourne.

I’m sorry for the satirical headline.

Gallup released a survey in January, conducted across 140 countries with responses from 14,000 people (including 1,000 in Australia), showing that Australians are fed up with unaffordable housing.