There is no doubt rents are under pressure. In a tight rental market, the struggle is real. The question is, are rents too high or are they just playing catch up? Looking at the change in advertised rent for 1 month, or 1 quarter can sometimes led you astray. There can be large movements when…

Housing is tight, really tight. According to SQM Research, rental vacancies in February 2023 across major metropolitan areas have reached 1.0%, not seen since 2006. Commentators point to a ‘flood’ of student migrants re-entering Australia. This is an easy message to sell because we tend to think of the success of our universities and the…

Interest rates are going up! Why is it getting harder to save? Putting together a deposit should be getting easier. Banks are desperate for our deposits but where are the amazing deals? Despite the highest official cash rates from the RBA since 2007, the national savings rate is falling. In the latest official figures from…

Unless you have a time machine there really is no point comparing your struggles with past generations. The truth is, each generation had/has their own difficulties. The real question you should be asking is, “Am I going to be better off in 5 years?” It is worth examining the past to see for each 5…

Is the RBA about to fire the starter’s gun in a race to save? It’s been a white knuckle interest rate ride that most aspiring homeowners have never experienced before. Interest rates have grown faster than any time since the 1980s but could that be over soon? These are the words in which the RBA…

Australian house prices have grown substantially since 1973. The 7 city combined Australian median house value was $21,400 in 1973. 50 years later, in February 2023 the same combined 7 city median house value has increased to $914,750. The nominal dollar value of housing has increased by approximately 43 times since 1973. Any analysis would…

The RBA has increased interest rates by 350 basis points (3.5%) despite its own minutes in February 2021 stating, “Members affirmed that the cash rate would be maintained at 10 basis points… will not increase the cash rate… The Board does not expect these conditions to be met until 2024 at the earliest.”. Many households…

Are you being cooked by your interest rate increasing faster than it should? Many banks sign new homeowners at competitive interest rates. They ‘lock in a discount for the life of the loan’ making it seem like you always have access to the best possible rate. Do you really? Slowly but surely, the standard variable…

Are your homeloan repayments rising as a share of your income? This is commonly referred to as mortgage stress. It is the biggest worry for many Australian households. Getting a better deal to lower your repayments is a way to stretch the budget further. There are a range of measures being used by banks to…

There is a huge amount of building activity going on right now. ’Work done’ estimated by the ABS is near record levels. How come I still can’t find a house to rent? The ABS National Accounts for the growth in dwelling stock (excluding changes in prices), shows there is no housing boom. In fact in…

Jim Chalmers latest suggestion is for super funds to respond to systemic risks around affordable housing. “If we fail to act… we will face the prospect of an economy that won’t sustain the growth that we need, and this will all be to the detriment of a good, dignified retirement for as many Australians as…

Company or investment vehicles which own multi-unit buildings are being touted as the next housing solution. They offer a secure tenancy for prospective tenants to remove the fear of being evicted out of signing a lease. This is a great option for those tenants who have suffered this fate, sometimes more than once. Companies also…