Hotspotting
It’s long been the case that the two most populous states, New South Wales and Victoria, have attracted the highest levels of property investment – just by sheer weight of numbers. But Victoria has lost its spot among the big two of property investment and is now being overtaken by Queensland. Meanwhile, Queensland now leads the nation is overall real estate transactions, including purchases by both home-buyers and investors. This is despite Victoria having a population of 7 million, versus 5.5 million in Queensland. It provides further evidence that investors are deserting Victoria...
info_outline Rents Aren't Plummeting — Don't Be Misled!Hotspotting
Whenever I’m asked for my rules for successful investing, I usually begin my response with this: Rule One – stop reading newspapers. Expressed in a more 21st Century context, stop treating media soundbites as research. People who base their investment decisions on the white noise in news media are running the risk of making very bad moves in the market. My observation of the content of news media coverage of residential real estate is that there is far more misinformation than real, accurate, reliable information. In modern media it’s all about clickbait and I find repeatedly that the...
info_outline Local Economy Fuels Property BoomHotspotting
At Hotspotting we believe real estate markets are local in nature and are subject to the strength or weakness of the local economy. While economists cling to their kindergarten theory that markets are essentially driven by interest rates, the stark differences in local markets across Australia suggest that there is something more powerful in play. If it were true that high interest rates mean prices will fall, then everywhere in Australian would have falling property prices in 2024, which is what major bank economists and others like them predicted at the start of the year. The reality that...
info_outline Property Powers Australia’s Wealth SurgeHotspotting
Household wealth in Australia keeps rising and it’s residential property that’s responsible. The latest figures from the ABS show that overall household wealth has increased for the seventh consecutive quarter. It rose a further 1.5 per cent in the June quarter to a record $16.5 trillion, driven primarily by property assets. Total household wealth is now 9.3 per cent higher than it was a year ago, driven by residential land and dwellings. Of the 1.5 per cent rise in the June quarter, 1.3 percentage points was attributed to residential property – our homes and investment properties....
info_outline Buying New v Buying Established Webinar ReplayHotspotting
Everyone seeking real estate in desirable locations has the same complaint: the lack of stock. Home buyers, investors, buyers’ agents and selling agents are all being frustrated by the shortage of listings of properties for sale – particularly quality options. Leading national buyers’ agency Adviseable says a partial solution for buyers is to consider building from scratch rather than buying an established property. The tactic has many advantages – and one or two problems as well. Alex Dutt of Adviseable says deciding whether to buy an established property or to go down the new...
info_outline Think Twice: Negative Gearing MythsHotspotting
In my experience, most people who have a loud view about scrapping negative gearing are people who can’t explain what it is, how it works, why it’s bad and how ending it would solve all the problems in the housing industry. Mostly, what’s in play with this issue is THE POLITICS OF ENVY – that nagging feeling some people have, that others are doing better than they are, or are receiving benefits that they are not, and therefore need to be squashed. As a famous Indian guru once observed, some people try to be tall by cutting off the heads of others. Contrast that with the views that are...
info_outline Rising Rents, Real ReasonHotspotting
Politicians and journalists love to scapegoat and demonise, particularly with issues impacting housing markets – with property investors always a popular target. Australia’s love of scapegoating is one of the reasons the nation seldom resolves any of the key issues it faces. Politicians hold press conferences, they stage inquiries, they bring on royal commissions, they make announcements – but the recurring theme is looking for someone to blame and to vilify – preferably someone other than themselves. In real estate, investors and related issues like negative gearing are blamed for all...
info_outline Rental Crisis DeepensHotspotting
How long could we reasonably expect governments to take, to sort out a problem like the rental shortage? I ask the question because we have had the problem of a shortage of options for tenants in Australia – and the consequent steep rises in rents - for a very long time. And it keeps getting worse, not better. The latest data from SQM Research shows that, nationally, the vacancy rate got a little worse last month, dropping from 1.3% in August to 1.2% in September. Three of our capital cities have vacancies well below 1%. And in six of the eight capital cities, vacancies stayed the same...
info_outline Stop the Distraction: Negative Gearing Isn’t the Real IssueHotspotting
There is one thing that Australian politicians are really good at – possibly the only thing - and that is diverting attention from the real issues and scapegoating others for the problems that they, the politicians, have caused. Right now, the core issues impacting Australian households include the housing shortage, the high cost of creating desperately needed new homes, the chronic rental shortage and the reality that rents keep on rising. It’s noteworthy that the recent AGM of the Commonwealth Bank reported that they have had to provide emergency payment arrangements to 132,000 customers...
info_outline Albo's Housing HypocrisyHotspotting
Australia is struggling with a number of crisis situations – a cost-of-living crisis, a housing affordability crisis and a rental shortage crisis. Our beloved Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has declared on many occasions how much he cares about the plight of ordinary Australians in dealing with these issues. But, as the old saying goes, actions speak louder than words – and that is particularly relevant to our elected representatives who love to stand before the media cameras and declare their concern for the people but fail to match their words with appropriate actions. So, let’s look...
info_outlineHousehold wealth in Australia keeps rising and the key reason for that is residential property – which accounts for 68 per cent of the total wealth of Australian households.
New data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) shows that total household wealth has reached $16.5 trillion.
Now, that number doesn’t mean much to the average observer, so here are some other numbers that give it some context.
That household wealth figure represented a 1.5 per cent rise in the June quarter and the current level of the highest on record.
It’s 9.3 per cent higher than a year ago, and it means the overall level of household wealth in the nation has increased for seven consecutive quarters, driven primarily by residential land and dwellings.
Dr Mish Tan, head of finance statistics at the ABS, notes that house prices have continued to rise across most states and territories, despite high interest rates, and said this largely reflects ongoing housing supply constraints.Property assets reached an unprecedented level of $11.2 trillion as of 30 June 2024, making up around 68 per cent of household wealth. The surge in household wealth over recent years has largely been attributed to rising property prices.
Households also hold $1.72 trillion in cash and deposits or 10.4 per cent of their total net worth, alongside a record $3.94 trillion in superannuation assets.
Now, one of the ways that residential real estate has pumped up household wealth in the past year or so, is the steady rise in the number of suburbs across Australia with a median price above $1 million.
According to CoreLogic, the number of Australian suburbs with a $1 million median price for either houses or apartments has reached a new record high.
Over the 12 months to September, 218 more suburbs surpassed a $1 million median for houses or apartments. Australia now has 1,257 suburbs with a median house value at or above $1 million, as well as 140 suburbs with a median apartment value at the same level.
And if you want to discover which suburbs are most likely to join the Million Dollar club in the near future, get yourself a copy of our newest report – the national Top 10 Million Dollar Hotspots report.
Hotspotting has published this report in conjunction with multi award winning buyers agency Propertybuyer – and it provides valuable insights into where to buy real estate in locations where the median price is below $1 million, but expected to surpass the milestone figure in the not too distant future.