Home / Posts tagged "inflation"

inflation

Wages Increased 0.8% in the March Quarter

Posted on by Laze Spasevski
The wages of the average Australian worker increased 0.8% in the March quarter. This takes annual wages growth to 4.1%, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics. The industries with the biggest annual increases in wages were: Health care & social assistance: 5.3% Electricity, gas, water & waste services: 4.4% Retail trade: 4.4% Transport, postal & warehousi...
Read More

Homebuilding Costs Increased by 40%

Posted on by Laze Spasevski
  Homebuilding costs have increased by nearly 40% since late 2019, according to a speech by Reserve Bank assistant governor Sarah Hunter. Meanwhile, general inflation (referred to as headline CPI in the graph) has been less than 20%. So why have residential construction costs grown twice as fast? Ms Hunter said one reason is that building materials and labour have “risen sharply” si...
Read More

Unemployment stayed at 3.5%

Posted on by Laze Spasevski
Unemployment stayed at 3.5%
Australia’s unemployment rate has stayed at 3.5% in March. It now had a ‘3’ in front of it for 13 consecutive months. Since February 2022, unemployment has ranged between 3.4% and 3.9%. In March 2023, it held steady at 3.5% for the second consecutive month, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics. In line with the increase in employment, female participation rates surged to a re...
Read More

Home Loan Refinancing Surged

Posted on by Laze Spasevski
The home loan refinancing boom, which has lasted for two years and counting, surged to record levels. Refinancing activity has dramatically increased during that time from $13.7 billion worth in February 2021 to $16.2 billion in February 2022 and, now, according to the latest Australian Bureau of Statistics data, a record $19.9 billion in February 2023. The refinancing surge started ...
Read More

Good News For First-time Home Buyers

Posted on by Laze Spasevski
There is good news for first-time home buyers as research from Domain shows that over the past year, it’s become significantly easier to save a 20% house deposit. In order to become homeowners, first-time home buyers must overcome 2 significant financial obstacles. They need to save for a lump sum deposit and they need to keep up with the monthly mortgage repayments. February 2022 data show...
Read More

Property Prices Set To Rise

Posted on by Laze Spasevski
New data from CoreLogic suggests property prices are set to rise. With that said, we might be near the end of the housing downturn. While Australia’s median property price fell 0.1% during February, values then rose in some markets in the four weeks to March 15: Sydney – up 0.8% Melbourne – up 0.2% Perth – up 0.1% Brisbane – unchanged Adelaide – down 0.4% Tim Lawless...
Read More

Inflation Expected To Fall In 2023

Posted on by Laze Spasevski
While inflation continues to be worryingly high, it may have peaked and is expected to fall in 2023. The Australian Bureau of Statistics’ latest data shows that inflation rose from 6.9% in October to 7.3% in November. In early December, the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) forecast that inflation would "peak at around 8%" in December. If that’s the case, inflation may already be coolin...
Read More

Refinancing is at Record-High

Posted on by Laze Spasevski
Refinancing is at Record-High
Refinancing activity is at record-high levels right now. According to another blog post, there are several reasons why borrowers are refinancing their home loans. The top reason is that owner-occupiers and investors alike are seeking home loans with lower interest rates as the Reserve Bank continues to raise the cash rate. Borrowers refinanced a record $19.5 billion of loans in November, the mo...
Read More

Homebuilding Activity At Record Highs, But Future Volume Will Be Much Lower

Posted on by Laze Spasevski
Homebuilding activity is at a record high, but this trend has definitely reversed. A record 143,037 new house builds were started in the year to March, according to the most recent data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics. However, when observing the trnd of completed houses vs commenced houses, we can see that they are heading in opposite directions. This suggests that while existing buil...
Read More

Australia’s Economy Gets Big Tick

Posted on by Laze Spasevski
Australia's economy is officially one of the strongest in the world. That’s after Moody’s affirmed Australia’s AAA credit rating, making Australia one of only nine countries in the world to have a AAA credit rating with the three major ratings agencies. "Australia's economy continues to demonstrate resilience, underpinned by its scale, diversity and high incomes, as well as its highly fl...
Read More
Top