For years I’ve been following Louis Christopher from SQM Research, who I reckon is one of our very best property analysts. Long-time readers will know I often quote him here and share his research. But this time every year he issues what I think is the best property forecast for the year. It’s called Christopher’s… Read more »
Rent increases are one of the biggest factors fuelling our inflation rate, keeping it high and forcing the RBA to keep interest rates high. According to SQM Research’s Christopher’s Housing Boom and Bust Report, that pressure on inflation from rising rents is not going away next year. SQM’s overall capital city forecast is for rents… Read more »
Over the last couple of months I’ve been talking about the impact of Australia’s record migration levels on the housing and rental markets. This week I received a fascinating report from CoreLogic’s Head of Research, Eliza Owen, who had five key insights about overseas migration and the housing market: 1. Migrant housing demand skews toward… Read more »
Given the strong October rise in housing values, is this just further confirmation that this is always the best time of year to sell a property? The sun is out, gardens look great, sellers and buyers come out and there is a rush to finalise sales before the summer break. But I was fascinated by… Read more »
With our cheapest capital cities, Adelaide and Perth, now recording the strongest growth in prices over the past 12 months, is there anywhere you can still find a cheap home? Looking at homes priced under $500,000, the answer is that it is becoming far less likely, particularly for houses. But, according to Ray White chief… Read more »
Anyone who has recently built a house or completed a renovation will know first-hand the exorbitant rise in construction costs due to post-pandemic supply chain issues and labour shortages. This building cost spiral has also sent builders who had fixed price contracts in place before the upheavals, broke. The cost increases have been a major… Read more »
Good news for renters – there are some early signs that the rent crisis is starting to soften. Over the last couple of weeks I’ve been writing about emerging signs that the horrendous spike in rents is turning, despite what’s currently coming through in the CPI figures. There were more signs of that this week.… Read more »
Consumer sentiment is at near record lows and most customers are heading for the bunker. Not our farmers, though, who apparently have never had it so good. It seems most of us are very glum at the moment. That’s according to the latest Westpac-Melbourne Institute Consumer Sentiment Index which fell another 0.4 per cent to… Read more »
Sydney property has better investment potential than Perth property – right? I’ll declare my bias up front. My daughter and son-in-law moved to Perth as the pandemic started and have been looking to buy after renting for a few years. They have a townhouse in Sydney and the family discussion has been around the usual… Read more »
Property values are all about demand and supply, but obviously it’s a bit more nuanced than that. Here are the most common reasons why a lot of property forecasters get it so wrong. There is absolutely no shortage of data or commentary when it comes to the property market or forecasts about where it’s going.… Read more »
