Unconventional Economist

Leith van Onselen is Chief Economist at the MB Fund and MB Super. He is also Chief Economist and co-founder of MacroBusiness. Leith has previously worked at the Australian Treasury, Victorian Treasury and Goldman Sachs.

Auction market plunges to new low

Sydney and Melbourne are currently experiencing housing corrections, with both markets recording price falls of more than 2% over the past quarter.

Weekend reading and MB media appearances

International Reading: Poll: 81% of young Americans say economy is bad – MS.now A Boomer Is Astonished That Younger Generations Spend Half Their Income On Rent And Housing.

More bad news for Sydney and Melbourne house prices

Jim Chalmers boasts as energy Armageddon approaches

The March quarter national accounts, released on Wednesday, showed that investment in data centres is booming and driving economic activity.

CBA forecasts RBA interest rate cuts

The latest Australian interest rate futures pricing suggests that the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) will increase the official cash rate once more this year, taking it to a terminal peak of 3.60%.

Australia’s auction market has collapsed

May 2026 marked a new low-water mark for Australia’s auction market, with the national clearance rate plunging to an average of 52%, the lowest result since the depths of the COVID-19 pandemic in April 2020.

The great Australian international education export rort

Education exports have long been touted as Australia’s fourth-largest export earner—used by governments and universities alike to defend generous post-study work rights and lobby for larger visa quotas.

RBA pushes back against Labor’s housing spin

I reported this week how the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) disagrees with the federal budget’s forecast of new housing investment, suggesting that the government may be overestimating housing supply by more than 10,000 homes over two years.

Calls for more EV subsidies as electricity grid strains under load

The Fringe Benefits Tax (FBT) exemption for electric vehicles (EVs) is proving to be both very costly to the federal budget and highly inequitable.

Unlike Australia, Canadian housing affordability is rapidly improving

Australian housing affordability continues to deteriorate amid rising mortgage rates and rents.

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