Domain released their preliminary auction results for today. They note that “from Thursday July 9 the Victorian government placed a ban on public real estate auctions as part of social distancing measures to slow the spread of COVID-19. The number of auctions withdrawn in the immediate weeks following the ban are likely to be higher than normal”.
Canberra listed 65 auctions, reported 56 results, with 42 sold, 3 withdrawn and 11 passed in to give a Domain clearance of 75%.
Brisbane listed 41 auctions, reported 31 with 17 sold, 6 withdrawn and 8 passed in to give a Domain clearance of 55%.
Adelaide listed 36 auctions, reported 20 with 19 sold, and 1 passed in to give a Domain clearance of 95%.
Surfers Paradise is a seaside resort on Queensland’s Gold Coast in eastern Australia. It’s known for its high-rise skyline and Surfers Paradise Beach, which hosts a popular market several evenings a week. Along Cavill Avenue are shops, cafes and lively nightclubs. The towering Q1 building, with its SkyPoint observation deck, offers panoramic ocean and city views.
Economist John Adams and Analyst Martin North looks at the claim the looming Government deficit can easily be repaid if we follow the post WW2 economic strategy. The truth is, the world has changed and the current approach is likely to lead to crippling structural deficits, with no way out.
Another deep dive into a property location, about 100k from Brisbane. Palmwoods is a rural town and locality in the Sunshine Coast Region, Queensland, Australia. In the 2016 census, Palmwoods had a population of 5,676 people.
It is situated close to popular family tourist attractions such as The Big Pineapple. Pineapple growing remains the most important primary industry in the area. Palmwoods is located 15 minutes from the beach and the Blackall Range.
We have released the latest update to our Financial Confidence index, with data to 20th October 2020, later than usual, because we wanted to see if there was a post-budget bounce (as trumpeted by one index provider last week!).
We discussed the findings in our most recent live show:
There was a slight recovery, but nothing which takes our index out of the “gloom” zone. The latest reading is 78.07 still well below the neutral setting.
By our affluence segmentation, those mortgage free, and holding market investments improved as markets improved, while those with mortgages and those renting saw little change.
Across the age groups, younger households were least confident, reflecting fragmented jobs and incomes, and high leverage. Older households, especially those mortgage free were more positive, but older groups, reliant on bank savings also remain in gloom territory.
Across the states, Victoria showed a further slide (this may change if the lock-down is relaxed as anticipated), whereas WA continues to move higher, as the local economy recovers.
Across the property segments, property investors continue to languish, thanks to lower rental returns, higher vacancy rates and limited capital growth. Owner occupied households benefited from lower rates, and refinance, while those renting benefited from higher availability and lower rents (though some are confronting risks of being forced to leave due to investors wanting to sell, or to give notice).
Across the components of the index, job security remains a significant issue with more than 60% of households less secure than a year ago. Many are working less hours, while structural unemployment continues to rise. Many SMEs are also cutting.
Incomes remain under pressure, thanks to less hours worked, and lower pay rates. Reductions to JobKeeper and JobSeeker are also hitting some now.
Costs pressures are still clearly in play, with most households seeing costs across multiple categories continuing to rise. Everyday costs at the supermarket appear to be rising faster than the official cpi.
Those households with debt (not all are borrowing) are more concerned, especially those who were on principal and interest repayment holidays which are now ending. We continue to see expansion of credit (and Buy-Now-Pay-Later facilities) to those already in significant debt.
Savings are under pressure, especially with the continued crushing of deposit rates (thanks RBA…!). Those with savings in the banks have see rates drive towards zero in recent times. As a result more households are having to dip into capital, or moving to higher-risk investments. This largely silent group is drowned out by the clamour from the mortgaged sector and property bulls.
Finally, net worth has improved for those with market investments, for now, though 65% of households are still sitting on lower net worth than a year ago.
Given the current and expected monetary policy settings, we expect to see continued weakness in the index, until such time as employment and income growth accelerates. This is some way away yet.
Join us tonight for our live stream event, where we will be examining the latest results from our surveys, and discussing the broader economic backcloth to today’s RBA minutes. You can ask a question live via the YouTube chat, and we will also have our post data on line.
In the latest in our property spotlight series, we examine the fast changing suburb south of Sydney, where just 22 percent of homes are now houses, as the rise of the high rise continues. This may not bode well for the myriad of property investors in the area.
Domain released their preliminary results for today. They note that “from Thursday July 9 the Victorian government placed a ban on public real estate auctions as part of social distancing measures to slow the spread of COVID-19. The number of auctions withdrawn in the immediate weeks following the ban are likely to be higher than normal”.
Canberra listed 66 auctions, reported 58 with 47 sold, 2 withdrawn and 2 passed in to give a Domain clearance of 81%.
Brisbane listed 67 auctions, reported 35 with 18 sold, 2 withdrawn and 15 passed in to give a Domain clearance of 51%.
Adelaide listed 39 auctions, reported 28 with 22 sold, 1 withdrawn and 5 passed in to give a Domain clearance of 79%.
