Australian Property

From Bill Evans today: The Westpac Melbourne Institute Index of Consumer Sentiment fell by 1.1% to 98.0 in May from 99.0 in April.

Cross-posted from The Conversation: Australia’s capital cities are getting more and more units, that are largely concentrated and come with a hefty price tag, a new report shows.

By Leith van Onselen Earlier this week, The ABC published a report arguing that childless couples will be Australia’s most common family type by 2023: One sociologist says the trend is already happening, and future government policy will determine whether the traditional family model continues to exist.

By Leith van Onselen A new survey has been released showing that the overwhelming majority of Sydneysiders oppose foreign investment into residential property.

By Leith van Onselen With the release of the ABS’ housing finance data for March, it is an opportune time to once again plot CoreLogic’s dwelling price series against the total value of finance commitments (excluding refinancings) as measured by the ABS.

By Leith van Onselen In his post Budget speech delivered yesterday, Labor Shadow Treasurer, Chris Bowen, pledged to block the Coalition’s Budget measure allowing young Australians to make contributions into their superannuation for future use as a home deposit.

Cross-posted from The Conversation: Renters are already the weak party at the negotiating table because they cannot ignore their need for a place to live.

From Domain: Property developers are leading a revolt against the Victorian government’s stamp duty changes, with 24 industry leaders signing a letter warning of a “dramatic slowdown” and “significant impact” on construction jobs.

By Leith van Onselen SQM Research has released its rental vacancy series for April, which revealed a 0.1% rise in the national vacancy rate over the month and no change over the year: As shown above, rental vacancies rose across almost all capitals in April.

Via the AFR: The cost of housing bricks has soared by a third in just two years in Sydney as a construction boom has kept the NSW capital one of the world’s most expensive cities in which to build.

By Leith van Onselen Via The AFR comes yet another warning about the potential oversupply of apartments: Veteran property developer and long-time Financial Review Rich Lister Max Beck has warned younger builders in the market could be set for tough times and have failed to heed lessons from previous real estate downturns.

Over time, MB has most often come down on the side of backing the US against China in Australia’s ongoing strategic straddle.

Via Goldman: The boom, bust, and recovery in US house prices dominated much of the macro debate in markets over the last 15 years.

Via Morgan Stanley: Our MSHAUS indicator provides a reliable 3-quarter lead on building approvals.

By Leith van Onselen Scott Morrison faced an angry crowd in Gosford last night as he fronted a town hall of voters concerned that the Coalition’s Budget measures won’t do nearly enough to alleviate the housing affordability crisis afflicting young first home buyers (FHBs).

By Leith van Onselen Yesterday, NSW Housing Minister, Anthony Roberts, unveiled a ‘plan’ to help ameliorate Sydney’s housing crisis.