This is an edit of a live discussion with mortgage broker Chris Bates. Chris started as a Financial Adviser back in 2007 and sold his Financial Advice business in 2020. Over the past 9 years, Chris has grown into one of Australia’s top Mortgage Brokers and is passionate about taking the product providing industry to a trusted advice based profession.
In 2022, Blusk won the Connective Broker of the year award. Connective is arguably Australia’s leading and largest Mortgage Aggregator. Chris has been finalist for the past three years. Chris was #1 with most loans settled in NSW and #2 nationally out of over 3,500 brokers.
I have discussed before the spate of announcables from the current Government – events and releases which give the impression of taking bold actions which grab headlines, but which in reality signifies very little at all. Housing was a standout example, but now we have another, the jobs plan.
Which in fact was a scene resembling The Hollowmen. It took 260-pages and six cabinet ministers to announce the jobs plan, and according to Jim Chalmers he wants to reduce the non-inflationary jobless rate so 2.8 million people who are not working, or wanting to work more hours, can bolster the labour market and improve their wellbeing.
So, the federal government will put “full employment” at the heart of Australia’s policy frameworks and institutions, to drive down structural unemployment over time and keep unemployment as low as possible. And they say the benefits of a strong labour market are not equally shared.
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Whatever announcables may come from the Government, the truth is housing crisis in Australia is far from over.
As I discussed with Leith van Onselen on Tuesday, high migration is the root cause of the problem – a problem created by bad policy and ultra-high migration. Yet some are arguing we should import more construction workers to build more homes. Sounds like shoot ready aim, to me.
Sure it is true that as Australia’s housing affordability crisis worsens, governments are spending more on housing. But as a recent The Conversation article says, without coordinated action to increase supply, government grants will have little practical effect on house affordability anytime soon.
Victoria’s Andrews government has announced a suite of reforms (such as boosting social housing and making planning processes faster) in an effort to get 800,000 extra homes in Victoria over the next decade.
Federally, the Albanese government’s A$10 billion Housing Australia Future Fund, or HAFF, has passed the Senate with the help of the Greens, who supported the bill in exchange for another A$1 billion for social housing. And this year’s federal budget has expanded eligibility for the Home Guarantee Scheme so more people can buy a home with a smaller deposit. But is Australia ready for a house construction boom?
Supply chain constraints say no. Ballooning construction costs and labour shortages have already claimed well-known building firms across the country. Delivering thousands of extra new homes in the coming years will not be easy.
Go to the Walk The World Universe at https://walktheworld.com.au/
Today’s post is brought to you by Ribbon Property Consultants.
This is an edited version of our recent live show, as I discuss the latest economic and housing news with Chief Economist at Nucleus Wealth, Leith van Onselen, who is also the co-founder of Macrobusiness.
We do a deep dive on the Population Ponzi and why housing shortages are likely to remain with us for ever. Its by design.
Go to the Walk The World Universe at https://walktheworld.com.au/
Digital Finance Analytics (DFA) Blog
DFA Live Q&A: HD Replay: The Population Ponzi With Leith van Onselen
Another tour of the recent news, as some prices are moving higher, driven by high demand and poor supply. But according to our property insider, Edwin Almeida, not all areas are behaving the same, and there are clear reasons for this. We also look at how pets are impacting the supply of rental property, and what to remember when at an auction.
Robbie Barwick from the Citizens Party and I discuss the latest moves in the battle to retain cash in society ahead of the next Senate hearings which are scheduled for next week. The battle is reaching a head, and there is everything to play for, not least as Adrian Orr put it recently, its a question of social cohesion!
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Go to the Walk The World Universe at https://walktheworld.com.au/
Digital Finance Analytics (DFA) Blog
Who’s Really Driving The Abolition Of Cash? With Robbie Barwick
Another deep discussion, plus slides with journalist Tarric Brooker.
Thanks to all those who posed us questions (we did not get through them all, but will keep then for our next show…)
Who is the economy for – and what does the data tell us? The charts are at: https://avidcom.substack.com/p/dfa-chart-pack-15th-september-2023 if you want to follow along.
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Go to the Walk The World Universe at https://walktheworld.com.au/
Digital Finance Analytics (DFA) Blog
Chasing Our Tails? Your Burning Questions Answered: With Tarric Brooker...
Superficially, Australia’s economy maintained its momentum in the three months through June, with the expansion underpinned by exports and sectors less impacted by the Reserve Bank’s 12 interest-rate increases.
That said, key themes from the accounts are: ongoing weakness in consumer spending; slowing growth in employee compensation; rapid deterioration in productivity; offset by boosts from business investment and services exports, but which is a fudge.
The ABS reported that Gross domestic product advanced 0.4%, the same pace as the prior quarter and in line with economists’ estimates. From a year earlier, the economy grew 2.1% from an upwardly revised 2.4%.
However, while the economy grew by 0.4% in aggregate terms, it shrank by 0.3% for the second consecutive quarter in per capita terms, a more realistic measure, than gross GDP which is inflated by high migration and hence population growth. Per capita GDP also declined by 0.3% over the 2022-23 financial year.
It is clear that the main driver of Australia’s GDP growth is the Albanese Government’s unprecedented immigration program, which delivered a record net 502,000 visa holders (excluding tourists) into Australia in the year to July, with student visas accounting for 297,000 of these arrivals.
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.
Superficially, Australia’s economy maintained its momentum in the three months through June, with the expansion underpinned by exports and sectors less impacted by the Reserve Bank’s 12 interest-rate increases.
That said, key themes from the accounts are: ongoing weakness in consumer spending; slowing growth in employee compensation; rapid deterioration in productivity; offset by boosts from business investment and services exports, but which is a fudge.
The ABS reported that Gross domestic product advanced 0.4%, the same pace as the prior quarter and in line with economists’ estimates. From a year earlier, the economy grew 2.1% from an upwardly revised 2.4%.
However, while the economy grew by 0.4% in aggregate terms, it shrank by 0.3% for the second consecutive quarter in per capita terms, a more realistic measure, than gross GDP which is inflated by high migration and hence population growth. Per capita GDP also declined by 0.3% over the 2022-23 financial year.
It is clear that the main driver of Australia’s GDP growth is the Albanese Government’s unprecedented immigration program, which delivered a record net 502,000 visa holders (excluding tourists) into Australia in the year to July, with student visas accounting for 297,000 of these arrivals.
http://www.martinnorth.com/
Go to the Walk The World Universe at https://walktheworld.com.au/
I caught up with Peter Marshall from Mozo to talk about the current trajectory of interest rates for mortgages, savings and cards, following the RBA’s decision to hold the cash rate at 4.1% on Tuesday.
The point is, more than ever before perhaps, its important to shop around for the best available rates, as banks are seeking to fatten their margins in the current difficult market.
Rate comparison portals such a Mozo https://mozo.com.au/ can help to find the best deals.
http://www.martinnorth.com/
Go to the Walk The World Universe at https://walktheworld.com.au/
Digital Finance Analytics (DFA) Blog
Interest Rates And How They Are Impacting Households: With Peter Marshall
