― The ‘time to buy a dwelling’ index increased 5.4% from 99.3 in Feb to 104.7 in Mar. After a sharp fall in 2015 H2, the national index continues to show signs of settling at a level just above 100. That puts it well below the long run average of 129 but above the lows seen during previous housing market corrections – these have seen sub-100 readings with sub-80 readings in major downturns.
― Notably, the state detail on ‘time to buy a dwelling’ shows buyer sentiment in NSW – the weakest state – is now 44% above its Sep low although it is still 19% below its level from a year ago.
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David Llewellyn-Smith is Chief Strategist at the MB Fund and MB Super. David is the founding publisher and editor of MacroBusiness and was the founding publisher and global economy editor of The Diplomat, the Asia Pacific’s leading geo-politics and economics portal.
He is also a former gold trader and economic commentator at The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, the ABC and Business Spectator. He is the co-author of The Great Crash of 2008 with Ross Garnaut and was the editor of the second Garnaut Climate Change Review.
