Digital Finance Analytics (DFA) Blog
"Intelligent Insight"
The latest Financial Stability Review from the RBA has a different tone to it, compared with previous edition, because whereas they have previously played up the “cushion” some households have by paying their mortgages ahead, now they say one third of households have no buffer and are exposed to potential interest rate rises. What has … Continue reading “One In Three Households Have No Mortgage Buffer – RBA”
We recently released the latest data on mortgage stress. We said “of the 3.1 million mortgaged households, latest results from the DFA surveys of 52,000 households reveals an estimated 669,000 are now experiencing mortgage stress. This is a 1.5% rise from the previous month and maintains the trends we have observed in the past 12 … Continue reading “Getting To Grips With Mortgage Stress”
The Australian Financial Review covered the latest DFA mortgage stress research today, even if they managed to scramble the data in the chart I provided. Here is the correct data. This is what the AFR wrote: Household debt is rocketing towards 190 per cent of disposable incomes, ramping up pressure on the Reserve Bank of … Continue reading “Malcolm Turnbull backs RBA warning as household debt hits new record”
The RBA just released their chart pack for April. As usual we went straight to the household finances section, and yes, debt as a percentage of disposable income is up again. This is unlikely to end well!
From Business Insider. Despite the impression you might get from policy wrangling like we’ve seen in recent weeks over corporate tax rates, or complex arguments about the levels of growth that other policy adjustments can deliver, or the daily updates you’ll see on commodity prices, at the heart of the Australian economy there is one … Continue reading “APRA’s housing intervention could suck billions out of the consumer economy”
In past years we have been highlighting the misaligned policy settings which have allowed home prices to balloon, household debt to soar, interest rates to slide and investors to gain more than a third of the market, higher than UK or USA. As banks have continued to lend and inflate their balance sheets and bolster … Continue reading “Think The Unthinkable – The Property Crash We Have To Have?”
From Reuters. Australia’s quarter-century run of uninterrupted economic growth has made its property market one of the world’s most expensive, but mortgage pain in towns hit by a commodities downturn is beginning to be felt in parts of the financial system. While most Australians are able to pay their debts, alarm bells have sounded … Continue reading “Mining Areas Are Taking A Property Hit”
The Economist updated their home price data series. Further evidence Australia’s home prices are look severely overpriced. Buyers, beware, and also consider the underlying reason why this is occurring. Limited supply, and negative gearing are a smart part but other deeper, more structural factors are also in play. PROPERTY is as safe as houses, at … Continue reading “More High Home Price Evidence”
So Australia dodged the “recession bullet” thanks to a rebound in the December quarter. It was helped by resources sector income from higher prices especially coal and iron ore, households who raided their savings to lift expenditure over the Christmas season, and Government sector infrastructure spending. But the underlying contribution from business excluding resources looks … Continue reading “Economy grows 1.1 per cent in December quarter”
From The Conversation. How to fix the UK’s housing crisis has been the subject of national debate for decades. Universal home ownership is a popular goal, which successive governments have failed to achieve. This is largely because they have been faced with the paradox of increasing the supply of affordable housing while not encouraging house … Continue reading “How renting can fix the UK’s broken housing market”