The Mind Behind Hotspotting: A 20-Year Founder Interview with Terry Ryder
Hotspotting
In this special founder interview, Terry Ryder shares the story behind Hotspotting — from launching the business in a garage in Maleny in 2006 to becoming one of Australia’s most respected independent real estate research platforms. What sparked the idea? Why did Terry believe there needed to be a better way to identify property hotspots? And what has been the core principle behind Hotspotting’s success for two decades? Over the past 20 years, Hotspotting has built its reputation on something simple but powerful: We don’t just report what has happened — we identify what’s likely to...
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The Housing Promise That Is Falling Apart
Hotspotting
Australia’s housing crisis isn’t easing — it’s getting worse, and the numbers explain why. In this episode, we unpack the reality behind the Housing Australia Future Fund, the Federal Government’s 1.2 million homes target, and the growing gap between promises and delivery. We look at stalled projects, missed state targets, rising construction costs, land shortages, and the heavy hand of bureaucracy that’s slowing new housing to a crawl. This is a clear, data-driven conversation about why affordable housing is becoming harder to deliver, why rents and prices keep rising, and...
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Investors Are Not Causing The Housing Crisis
Hotspotting
Are first-home buyers really behind Australia’s rising property prices? In this episode, we dig into the data, government schemes, and hidden advantages that are giving first-time buyers a huge edge over investors and second-home buyers. From tiny deposits and no stamp duty to tax perks, we break down why first-timers are dominating the market right now and why politicians and media often get the story wrong. If you want to understand the real forces driving Australia’s housing market, this episode is your guide to who’s really shaping property prices today.
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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,...
info_outlineOne of the fundamental factors we look for at Hotspotting when assessing locations is infrastructure.
We want to know that a location has good basic infrastructure – schools, shops, government services, public transport and recreation amenities.
If there is also a major factor in the market like a university campus or a hospital, this can be significant as a big generator of demand for real estate.
In addition is good existing infrastructure, one of the big game-changers we look for is major new infrastructure under construction or in planning.
A $500 million or $1 billion infrastructure project is a big generator of economic activity and employment in an area while under construction – and, with certain types of infrastructure, when completed and operational. And this means strong demand for dwellings, both to buy and to rent.
This is one of key factors that has kept many property markets across Australia busy and vibrant during times of high inflation, high interest rates and economic uncertainty.
And here’s the key factor: the level of infrastructure investment currently occurring in the nation is unprecedented, in my experience, which is more than 40 years researching and writing about real estate issues.
Projects under way or completed in 2024 across Australia totalled well over $500 billion, with another $370 billion worth in advanced stages of planning.
These projects include hospitals, universities, airports, motorways, rail links, ship-building enterprises and major energy projects like wind and solar farms.
Partly at least, the level of construction of big infrastructure developments was inspired by the economic damage caused by the Covid lockdown periods and a desire by governments to bring on big ticket projects to generate economic activity and jobs to avoid recession.
These developments can have huge impacts on property markets, because they create demand for workers and for businesses that provide products and services.
And the impacts can be long-lasting.
If a new $1 billion hospital is proposed, it may create 3,000 or 4,000 jobs in construction – but have even bigger impact after it is completed, because there are often as many as 6,000 jobs in the operation of this major facility.
I recently conducted an analysis of infrastructure investment in the capital cities and regional areas of Australia on a per capita basis – in other words, the level of spending relative to the population of the city or regional jurisdiction.
And the places with the biggest impacts from current and planned infrastructure were Darwin, Brisbane, Adelaide and Melbourne among the capital cities, and the regional areas of Queensland and South Australia.
Some of the big ticket infrastructure projects currently happening, with direct and indirect impacts on real estate markets are …
the $31 billion Inland Rail Link, which is connecting Melbourne to Brisbane via regional NSW;
the new Western Sydney airport, which includes new road and rail links, as well as education, medical and commercial precincts, totalling many tens of billions of dollars in investment; and
major new hospital developments in regional cities like Toowoomba, the Gold Coast and Bundaberg in Queensland; Wollongong and the Tweed region in NSW: Albury-Wodonga at the NSW border with Victoria; and several of our capital cities. Many of these hospital projects will each cost over $1 billion and will be massive generators of economic activity and employment, and from that demand for real estate.
It's a key factor to look for when considering good places to buy for future capital growth. A location with a big program of infrastructure developments will always have rising prices.