Researchers have argued that Australia needs a national housing strategy to ensure that adequate housing is available to everyone in the country. Their report titled Towards an Australian Housing and Homelessness Strategy: understanding national approaches in contemporary policy, found that Australia’s incoherent and fragmented housing policies have become so unworkable that a circuit-breaker is needed.… Continue reading Is it time for a housing strategy?
Category: Australian economy
Mortgage stress at new heights.
Mortgage stress has reached its highest level since August 2008, with 27.8% of mortgage holders being rated ‘At Risk’ by Roy Morgan following the recent RBA interest rate rise to 4.1%. Roy Morgan considers a borrower to be “At Risk,” if their mortgage payments surpass a predetermined level. This level is traditionally met when 25%… Continue reading Mortgage stress at new heights.
Cost of Living Pressure continues to rise.
Headline inflation picked up last month as energy prices jumped, while the underlying price pressures eased reducing the chances of another Reserve Bank rate rise in June. Consumer prices advanced 6.8% in April, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said on Wednesday, a rate higher than the 6.4% pace economists had expected, and the 6.3% reading… Continue reading Cost of Living Pressure continues to rise.
Time to leave the table.
On Tuesday the Reserve Bank of Australia lifted the official cash rate to an 11-year high of 3.85 per cent. The last time Australia experienced a similarly aggressive tightening of monetary policy was also when Ray Price or Mr Perpetual Motion led the Paramatta Eels to a Premiership. Incidentally, this remains their most recent Premiership… Continue reading Time to leave the table.
Goodbye Low- & Middle-Income Tax Offset
This week we found out that more than 10 million Australians are facing a large tax rise. The tax hike comes from the removal of the Low- and Middle-Income Tax Offset (LMITO), which last year gave those with a taxable income of less than $126,000 tax relief of up to $1,500. The LMITO was paid… Continue reading Goodbye Low- & Middle-Income Tax Offset
Has the RBA paused the interest rate tightening cycle, or is it permanent?
After a record 350 basis points of rate increases, the Reserve Bank of Australia on Tuesday wisely paused their monetary policy tightening cycle at 3.6 per cent. A position that we predicted that the RBA would take in an earlier post. This level also matches their internal scenarios that suggested about 1 in 7 Aussie borrowers,… Continue reading Has the RBA paused the interest rate tightening cycle, or is it permanent?
Labor considering a gas tax hike
Perhaps the federal government has identified a shift in public sentiment, as it is likely that they will impose a tax on the windfall profits of gas producers during the May budget. Which speaks to how confident the Albanese government is in its popularity within the electorate, considering the scarring from the Mining Tax experience… Continue reading Labor considering a gas tax hike
RBA to pause in April
This week the Reserve Bank Board’s minutes were released from their meeting on Tuesday, 7 March. One of the key points from the meeting was that the Board only considered the case for a 25-basis point increase, discarding both holding interest rates or a 50-basis point increase. The minutes noted that “Members agreed to reconsider… Continue reading RBA to pause in April
Silicon Valley Bank
What a week it has been Silicon Valley Bank going under, and Credit Suisse apparently teetering on the brink. One thing that might be hard for most Australians to comprehend is that the Americans have one bank for every 70,000 people, compared to our ratio of one bank for every 260,000 people. While this has… Continue reading Silicon Valley Bank
What do the superannuation changes mean for you?
Last week we spoke about the superannuation discussion paper and, the options that were being looked at by the federal government. Unless you have been engaged in a social media detox, you should have heard that the Federal Government will introduce legislation to change the tax concession caps for superannuation contributions. While we will wait… Continue reading What do the superannuation changes mean for you?