Australian Property

During the Albanese government’s first term, one of the main policy focuses was on public housing.

Net overseas migration is undoubtedly the most significant driver of housing demand in Australia. Australia’s population grew by 445,900 in 2024 (equivalent to a Canberra), driven by net overseas migration of 340,600.

Policymakers want Australians to live in shoebox apartments to alleviate the structural undersupply of housing in our major cities and accommodate endless population growth.

Canada experienced an unprecedented immigration boom after the pandemic, which caused a record housing shortage.

Cotality’s preliminary auction report revealed that the national clearance rate was 73.9% this weekend, which is the highest preliminary result since July 2024.

Over the past week, we have seen multiple articles like the following from The West Australian complaining about the decline in housing affordability, which has left residents struggling to pay mortgages or rent.

In September 2024, the Housing Industry Association (HIA) labelling the federal government’s failure to control immigration a “systemic policy failure” that “compounds the challenge of delivering sufficient housing”.

Master Builders Australia (MBA) has used a submission to the Productivity Commission to argue that the federal government should provide tax incentives to builders who meet industry standards.

Westpac’s latest consumer sentiment survey suggested that Australians have turned bullish on housing.

In last month’s budget speech, Victorian Treasurer Jaclyn Symes labelled the state government’s controversial Suburban Rail Loop (SRL) project as “Australia’s largest housing project”.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) released data on permanent and long-term arrivals for the month of April.

Last weekend, it appeared as if Sydney’s housing market may be faltering after the preliminary clearance rate fell to 55.9%, which was the lowest preliminary result this year.

For a textbook example of how Australia’s housing affordability debate has been perverted, look no further than the latest Housing Affordability Report from the Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre.

SQM Research released its rental vacancy rate for May, which fell 0.1% over the month to a historically low 1.2% nationally—the same level as last year. While all markets are tight, Sydney (1.5%) and Melbourne (1.5%) have significantly higher vacancy rates than the other capital cities, which are all tracking below 1.0%.

Policymakers are exerting significant pressure on Australians to live in shoebox apartments.

NSW Premier Chris Minns wants to solve Sydney’s housing crisis by accelerating the supply of shoebox apartments.

Over recent years, Queensland has experienced a large inflow of residents from other states.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) released data on Australia’s housing stock, which was valued at a record $11,366 billion as of Q1 2025, equating to $1,002,500 per dwelling.

Justin Fabo from Antipodean Macro posted the following chart, which shows the collapse in mortgage rates in New Zealand.

Australian home values hit their highest level on record in May.

One year ago, AMP chief economist Shane Oliver estimated that Australia’s cumulative housing shortage was in excess of 200,000 dwellings.

The Albanese government has engaged in a full-court press of housing disinformation.