The Real Reason Interest Rates Are Rising For Australians
Hotspotting
Another interest rate rise is looming — and this time, it’s not bad luck. Inflation is rising again, and the reasons are much closer to home than Australians are being told. Housing costs keep climbing, power prices are surging, productivity is weak and government spending remains elevated. These aren’t temporary shocks — they’re structural failures, and households are paying the price. In this episode, we unpack the latest inflation data, why the Reserve Bank is running out of options, and how policy decisions on housing, energy and spending are locking in higher interest rates for...
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The Shocking Impact Of Bureaucracy On Housing Prices
Hotspotting
Australia has a housing crisis—but it’s not what you think. Builders are ready, investors are ready, yet homes remain scarce and unaffordable. The real culprit? Government red tape, restrictive zoning, and endless approval delays driving up costs by hundreds of thousands. In this episode, we unpack how policy barriers are choking housing supply, what the Productivity Commission and OECD are saying, and why cutting bureaucracy could finally make homes more affordable. Tune in to hear the real story behind Australia’s housing shortage and what it will take to fix it.
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The Greens Versus Reality On Housing Affordability
Hotspotting
Australia’s rental crisis keeps getting worse, yet the same housing policies keep getting recycled. So who is really to blame? In this episode, we unpack the Greens’ approach to housing and rentals, why property investors are being singled out, and whether policies like scrapping negative gearing, increasing capital gains tax and capping rents would actually fix affordability or make the shortage worse. We look at the data behind rising rents, ultra low vacancy rates and the real drivers of housing demand. If you want a clear eyed, evidence based discussion on Australia’s housing...
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Why Building New Homes Is No Longer Financially Viable
Hotspotting
When even the NSW Government cannot make housing projects financially viable, what does that say about the real state of Australia’s housing market? In this episode, we unpack why Landcom has scrapped major housing developments across western Sydney and what that reveals about construction costs, feasibility pressures, government housing targets and the growing gap between political promises and commercial reality. If you follow Australian property, housing affordability, real estate trends or market analysis, this episode cuts through the noise and gets to the numbers that actually matter.
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Australia’s Growth Leaders of 2026 Revealed
Hotspotting
Australia’s property markets are set for growth in 2026 – but not in the way most experts think. In this episode, we dive into the Growth Leaders 2026 report from Hotspotting and Finance Better to uncover which cities and regions are poised for the biggest price increases. From capital cities to regional hotspots, even the markets thought to be “weaker” are showing strong signs of upward movement. We explore six key metrics that reveal the real drivers behind property value growth – beyond interest rates and media speculation. Tune in to discover where smart buyers and investors...
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Red Tape and Taxes Are Killing Housing Supply
Hotspotting
Australia’s housing crisis isn’t a mystery – it’s the result of government choices. In this episode, we dig into why Victoria is making home ownership harder than ever, from excessive red tape and slow approvals to punitive taxes that push costs through the roof. We break down the numbers, explore the real impact on buyers and developers, and uncover the structural barriers keeping new homes out of reach. If you’ve ever wondered why supply isn’t meeting demand or why building a home is so expensive, this episode explains it all. Tune in to get the full picture behind Australia’s...
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What the Headlines Are Getting Wrong About Home Building in 2026
Hotspotting
Australia’s home building “recovery” is dominating headlines — but does it actually stack up? In this episode, we unpack the latest building approvals data and explain why a single strong month does not signal a genuine turnaround in Australia’s housing market. We explore the real gap between approvals, commencements and completions, why so many approved projects never get built, and how construction costs, labour shortages and government red tape are constraining housing supply in 2026. If you care about housing affordability, property markets, real estate trends or policy reform,...
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The Housing Market Myth the Media Pushes Every New Year
Hotspotting
Every January, the Australian media dusts off the same story. A single month of housing data is framed as a turning point for the property market and a warning sign for the year ahead. This episode unpacks why December housing figures are routinely misunderstood, how seasonal slowdowns skew the data, and why mainstream commentary often mistakes noise for insight. We examine what actually drives Australian house prices, from chronic housing undersupply and population growth to infrastructure investment, and why interest rate speculation is so often used as a lazy explanation. If you want a...
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Red Tape and Taxes Are Killing Housing Supply
Hotspotting
Australia’s housing crisis isn’t a mystery – it’s the result of government choices. In this episode, we dig into why Victoria is making home ownership harder than ever, from excessive red tape and slow approvals to punitive taxes that push costs through the roof. We break down the numbers, explore the real impact on buyers and developers, and uncover the structural barriers keeping new homes out of reach. If you’ve ever wondered why supply isn’t meeting demand or why building a home is so expensive, this episode explains it all. Tune in to get the full picture behind Australia’s...
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Small Cities and Regional Markets Driving Big Growth in 2026
Hotspotting
2026 is set to shake up the Australian property market, and the winners might surprise you. While the usual capitals have led growth in recent years, this year it’s the small cities and overlooked regional markets stepping into the spotlight. Join us as we explore why Darwin, Hobart and Canberra are on the rise, and uncover the hidden hotspots across Tasmania, Victoria and New South Wales that investors are starting to notice. If you want to stay ahead of the market and spot the property growth leaders before everyone else, this episode is a must-listen.
info_outlineIf you’re confused about what’s happening with rents in Australia, you can be forgiven.
That’s especially so if you use news media as your main source of information about residential real estate.
The information – or perhaps more correctly, misinformation – in news media is highly confusing and in many cases contradictory, with one headline saying the complete opposite to another.
Here are two headlines that appeared on the same day, the 10th of January:
The worst is over: slowest rise in rents in four years
Affordability crisis: tenants feel the pinch as rents surge
So, as usual, Australian real estate consumers need to look elsewhere, somewhere other than mainstream media, to find out what’s really happening in housing markets.
One of the strange things about residential rents, which pops up regularly in news media, is the bizarre notion that if the latest stats suggest that the rate of growth in rents is slowing, then tenants across the nation are celebrating.
They’re apparently popping champagne corks because the rate of rental growth currently is less than it was last year.
Let’s be clear: the greatest wish of tenants is NOT slower growth in rents. It’s NOT for rents to stop growing. And contrary to the apparent belief of The Greens, they don’t want a rental cap. What they want is for rents to FALL.
People who rent in Australia, about a third of households, want to see a bigger choice of places to live in – in other words, they want higher vacancies. And they want rents to come down.
There are two main reasons why that isn’t happening and cannot happen:
(1) because vacancies are at historic lows, as they have been now for three years, and there are no remedies in sight; and
(2) because interest rates are persistently high and the owners of rental properties need high rents to cover their costs.
Having said that, it’s clear that - in some locations - rents have reached a ceiling and are unlikely to go much higher in the short term. Tenants cannot keep paying higher and higher rents – and higher and higher proportions of their incomes – on rental accommodation.
That is why the rate of growth in rents has slowed in SOME – but certainly not all – locations across Australia.
But the true wish among tenants – for rents to decline – is highly unlikely to happen any time soon.
SNIPPET:
There’s a lot of confusing and conflicting information in mainstream media about what’s happening with residential rents.
Some headlines have declared that the worst is over for tenants because the rate of growth in rents is slowing down – as a national average.
But other headlines have claimed that rents continue to surge higher and tenants continue to be in a world of pain.
The reality is that rents are still rising, although in SOME locations the rate of growth is slowing down.
But with vacancy rates continuing to be at historic lows in most places across Australia, and interest rates stubbornly high, we don’t have the conditions for rents to fall any time soon – particularly as there are no solutions in sight for the shortage which is causing rents to be high and rising.