Pop Goes My Budget!

Our latest surveys to the end of February reveals the current state of Household Finances in Australian as measured by cash flow. A record 73.3% of those living in the rental sector are under pressure, while just over half of those with a mortgage are also in net negative cash flow. All up around 48% of households or 4.7 million families are struggling. The causes are clear to see, with costs of living still outstripping real incomes, high mortgage interest rates thanks to RBA monetary policy and rental cost driven sky high. Massive net migration, and bad government housing policies have created this disaster, which will likely be with us for decades. Housing affordability is shot.

So, in today’s show I will walk through the latest findings, ahead of a live show during which we will examine the data at a post code level. That show will be on Tuesday 12th March 2024.

But here we examine how we measure cash flow stress, examine the latest results across mortgage, rental, investor and overall financial stress, and also look at our price scenarios for the months ahead, alongside our estimates of mortgage defaults in the next 12 months.

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Its Edwin’s Monday Evening Property Rant!

More from our property insider, Edwin Almeida, as we look at the latest in property news across the rental and sales markets.

The rental sector continues to weaken, even as properties listed for sale rises, but Sydney and Melbourne are headed in very different directions.

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Today’s post is brought to you by Ribbon Property Consultants.

Property: The Dark Truth Politicians Don’t Want To Hear!

The RBA minutes just out included a discussion about the case to raise the cash rate further. It centred on the observation that it would take some time for inflation to return to target and the labour market to full employment. Inflation was expected to take a further two years or so to return towards the midpoint of the target range under the central forecast. In the end, they held the cash rate target unchanged at 4.35 per cent, and the interest rate on Exchange Settlement balances unchanged at 4.25 per cent. But this is an important signal.

Yet the 13 RBA driven rate hikes have had a perverse impact on property. Since January last year, Australian property prices have been rising in many parts of the country, recouping almost all the losses incurred after the Reserve Bank of Australia began raising interest rates in 2022. They might be slowing a bit, now, but that was not meant to happen.

In fact, there is strong demand for property, buoyed both by increased population and a resurgence in demand from cashed-up older generations. Yet supply is not keeping up, and mortgage lending is tighter now for many as the costs of a mortgage rise. The signals are clear – we have a major crisis in housing. Renters are caught in the cross-fire, but purchasers are also in the firing line too.

Housing rapidly is becoming a lightning rod for a generation staring down the prospect of having next to no hope of buying a residence under their own steam. We may see ourselves as an egalitarian society with a universal education and health system that provides opportunities for anyone willing to have a go. Housing is broken, and politicians won’t tackle the real issues.
Could it be that the fact they are much more likely to own investment property stop them from acting, or is it the fact that this would require real action, not political spin?

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Today’s post is brought to you by Ribbon Property Consultants.

Are The Rats Leaving Sydney’s Sinking Ship?

Sydney is at risk of becoming “the city with no grandchildren”, a senior government official has warned, as high housing costs drive young families to leave.

The state capital is losing twice as many people aged 30 to 40 as it gains, according to a paper by the NSW Productivity Commission.
“If we don’t act, we could become a city with no grandchildren,” the agency’s commissioner Peter Achterstraat said.

The exodus of that group is a problem, according to Mr Achterstraat, because people in that age range are among the most productive in the workforce.

“They’ve generally completed their training, they’ve had 10 or more years’ experience, and the majority are tech savvy,” he said.

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Today’s post is brought to you by Ribbon Property Consultants.

Its Edwin’s Monday Evening Property Rant!

Another dose of reality from our property insider Edwin Almeida. What political games are being played at the moment, and how is this influencing markets, which according to some are taking off again. Or does it depend on where you look and who is buying. How big is the housing crises now? Will any of the “solutions” being discussed really assist?

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Today’s post is brought to you by Ribbon Property Consultants.

If you are buying your home in Sydney’s contentious market, you do not need to stand alone. This is the time you need to have Edwin from Ribbon Property Consultants standing along side you.

Buying property, is both challenging and adversarial. The vendor has a professional on their side.

Emotions run high – price discovery and price transparency are hard to find – then there is the wasted time and financial investment you make.

Edwin understands your needs. So why not engage a licensed professional to stand alongside you. With RPC you know you have: experience, knowledge, and master negotiators, looking after your best interest.

Shoot Ribbon an email on info@ribbonproperty.com.au & use promo code: DFA-WTW/MARTIN to receive your 10% DISCOUNT OFFER.

Is Negative Gearing The Next Target?

Interesting to see the momentum now turning to discussion of whether the Government intends to tackle negative gearing having U-turned on the tax cuts.

As The Conversation put it, there are two things the prime minister needs to get into his head about tax. One is that saying he won’t make any further changes no longer works. The other is that negative gearing doesn’t do much to get people into homes.

Australia’s Treasury has begun publishing estimates of the cost of the present unfocused system of negative gearing. Its latest, released last week, puts the cost at $2.7 billion per year, to which should probably be added a chunk of the $19 billion per year lost as a result of the capital gains concession.

Albanese is normally cautious. But as he is showing us right now with his rejigged Stage 3 tax cuts, there are times when he is not. If he really wants to throw everything he has got at building more homes, he knows what to do.

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Go to the Walk The World Universe at https://walktheworld.com.au/

Today’s post is brought to you by Ribbon Property Consultants.

Its Edwin’s Monday Evening Property Rant!

Another week shoots past, so Edwin is back for another property update. The chaos continues with talk of “pre-war”, home price rises, and more Government support for property. What could possibly go wrong?

http://www.martinnorth.com/

Go to the Walk The World Universe at https://walktheworld.com.au/

Today’s post is brought to you by Ribbon Property Consultants.

If you are buying your home in Sydney’s contentious market, you do not need to stand alone. This is the time you need to have Edwin from Ribbon Property Consultants standing along side you.

Buying property, is both challenging and adversarial. The vendor has a professional on their side.

Emotions run high – price discovery and price transparency are hard to find – then there is the wasted time and financial investment you make.

Edwin understands your needs. So why not engage a licensed professional to stand alongside you. With RPC you know you have: experience, knowledge, and master negotiators, looking after your best interest.

Shoot Ribbon an email on info@ribbonproperty.com.au & use promo code: DFA-WTW/MARTIN to receive your 10% DISCOUNT OFFER.

Many Households Are In Trouble – Mate!

We walk through the latest from our surveys and modelling ahead of our live show which will be on 13th February 2024 at 8pm Sydney where we will look at specific post codes in more detail.

Household financial stress continues to bite, and is spreading into many different types of communities.

Ahead, we do not expect cash flow to improve for many, as mortgage rates will not be falling very soon, the costs of living continue to rise and income growth in real terms is muted, at best.

If you want data on a specific post code, put it in the comments and I will either cover it Tuesday week, or via a separate show.

If you want to get the full data set, this is available via Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/DigitalFinanceAnalytics

Our One to One Service is also available: https://digitalfinanceanalytics.com/blog/dfa-one-to-one/

http://www.martinnorth.com/

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Its Edwin’s’ Monday Evening Property Rant!

More from our Property Insider, Edwin Almeida as we look at the low listings, and rentals, and the reasons why markets are not behaving as some (who should know better) said they would.

Edwin referred to this post: https://www.tiktok.com/@shallowchal/video/7326805682114645255

We also look at trends in Western Australia, as well as our normal East Coast analysis.

Things, as they say are getting interesting…

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Today’s post is brought to you by Ribbon Property Consultants.

Its Our Australia Day Special: With Tarric Brooker!

Another dose of charts and common sense from Tarric Brooker, as we look at the latest data and explore the implications for Australians on Australia Day. Houses and Holes, mate, Houses and Holes!

See the charts here: https://avidcom.substack.com/p/dfa-chart-pack-26th-january-2024

And Tarric’s article on the Houthi Strikes, The Closure Of The Gate Of Grief And The Sea Of Economic Consequences https://avidcom.substack.com/p/houthi-strikes-the-closure-of-the

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