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Credit growth was a solid 0.5 per cent in February, and 6½ per cent over the year, according to the Reserve Bank of Australia's Financial Aggregates.
Personal credit growth has been low, but consumers may be using more diverse sources of funding these days.
Business credit growth has been strong, on the other hand. rising 9 per cent over the past year.
Housing credit growth was 0.4 per cent in February, to be up by 5.6 per cent over the year.
Owner-occupier credit growth was 0.44 per cent, and investor lending was stronger, rising by 0.49 per cent over the month.
I'm not quite sure how that rounds down to 0.4 per cent for housing overall - maybe a seasonal adjustment - but in any case it's clear that investors have been making their way back into the housing market over recent months.
The housing credit impulse is actually pretty strong, and seems to suggest stronger price growth than we have seen in recent months.
That's partly because more supply has come online, and also there's probably a bit of a lag, with CoreLogic set to report housing price gains for March and for the months ahead.
We'll soon be into the winter months, and there will be less supply for buyers to choose from.
The Housing Industry Association reported that new home sales were flat in February, with WA, Queensland, and South Australia picking up, but sales for new housing supply weak overall in New South Wales.
The Reserve Bank is expected to keep interest rates on hold tomorrow, but 18 of 26 economists in the Bloomberg survey are plumping for a cut in May.
Australia's 3-year bond yield is trading at 3.66 per cent, which is the lowest level since early in October 2024.
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This week on the 2-Sense podcast, Chris and I discussed the Budget and forthcoming election, Brisbane Olympics plans and the suburbs set to benefit, and the government's Help to Buy scheme which kicks off later in 2025.
TheAustralian Property Podcast is rapidly becoming one of Australia's biggest business podcasts, now with well over 50,000 audio downloads per month, and growing fast.
And our popular Low Rates High Returns Show also remains available on Spotify.
3. Subscribe for my free daily blog
Subscribe for my free daily blog with some 3¾ million hits here.
You can also catch up with me daily on Twitter here, where I'm active daily and have over 14,900 followers.
By the way, I'm an 8-times published author on finance, investing, and business, so you can check out some of my books here.
My new book, co-authored with Cate Bakos is available to buy here or on Amazon here - follow our book release on Facebook here and at our Buy Right podcast series here.
4. Work with me privately
For a limited time you can book in a free diagnosis call with me here, so book in a call today.
TheAustralian Property Podcast is rapidly becoming one of Australia's biggest business podcasts, now with well over 50,000 audio downloads per month, and growing fast.
And our popular Low Rates High Returns Show also remains available on Spotify.
3. Subscribe for my free daily blog
Subscribe for my free daily blog with some 3¾ million hits here.
You can also catch up with me daily on Twitter here, where I'm active daily and have over 14,900 followers.
By the way, I'm an 8-times published author on finance, investing, and business, so you can check out some of my books here.
My new book, co-authored with Cate Bakos is available to buy here or on Amazon here - follow our book release on Facebook here and at our Buy Right podcast series here.
4. Work with me privately
For a limited time you can book in a free diagnosis call with me here, so book in a call today.
Australia's massive aggregate housing wealth increased by a further +6.6 per cent last year to a new high of $7.7 trillion.
That's an increase of another $1 trillion over the course of last year.
There was a bit of a slowdown towards the end of the year - wealth increased by +0.9 per cent in the December quarter - as housing prices eased.
Still, the average net worth per person increased to a record high of around $618,000.
With around 11¼ households as at the end of December 2024, this equates to an average or mean wealth per household of slightly more than $1½ million.
Household deposits increased by +3.2 per cent over the last quarter of 2024 as cost of living relief and higher incomes enables more saving.
Weeks ahead
Of course, there are widening gaps between the haves and the have nots, although Australia doesn't have the worst disparity in wealth, partly thanks to the ongoing success of the superannuation system.
Those of a more bearish disposition have often underestimated the sheer power of the aggregate wealth that has built up in Australia, particularly so since the Millennium.
There's a massive week of economic data due next week, including the Reserve Bank's monetary policy decision on April 1 (staying on hold, most likely, but with a cut priced as more likely than not in May).
The Federal election has been called for five weeks time on May 3, with the incumbent Labor government slight favourites to remain in power.
In the Budget reply, Opposition leader Dutton promised to cut immigration by 25 per cent, reduce the fuel excise for 12 months, and force more gas into the domestic market to lower energy prices.
It looks like it will be the cost of living election.
---
P.S. Whenever you’re ready…here are 4 ways I can help you:
TheAustralian Property Podcast is rapidly becoming one of Australia's biggest business podcasts, now with well over 50,000 audio downloads per month, and growing fast.
And our popular Low Rates High Returns Show also remains available on Spotify.
3. Subscribe for my free daily blog
Subscribe for my free daily blog with some 3¾ million hits here.
You can also catch up with me daily on Twitter here, where I'm active daily and have over 14,900 followers.
By the way, I'm an 8-times published author on finance, investing, and business, so you can check out some of my books here.
My new book, co-authored with Cate Bakos is available to buy here or on Amazon here - follow our book release on Facebook here and at our Buy Right podcast series here.
4. Work with me privately
For a limited time you can book in a free diagnosis call with me here, so book in a call today.
After growing by an all-time high +520,900 in FY2023, Australia's capital city population grew by a still-massive +427,800 in FY2024.
After the pandemic 'race for space', it seems that the capital cities are now attractive the bulk of population growth again, with the capital city population growing by 427,800 or +2.4 per cent over FY2024.
Population growth across regional Australia was +113,800 or +1.3 per cent.
The biggest growth was seen in Melbourne (+142,600) and Sydney (+107,500), with Brisbane and Perth both recorded extremely fast population growth of +2.7 per cent and +3.1 per cent respectively.
Source: ABS
The largest population growth was seen in the outer suburbs of capital cities, driven by people moving internally from other parts of Australia.
Very interesting update from the ABS, which you can read in more detail here.
---
P.S. Whenever you’re ready…here are 4 ways I can help you:
TheAustralian Property Podcast is rapidly becoming one of Australia's biggest business podcasts, now with well over 50,000 audio downloads per month, and growing fast.
And our popular Low Rates High Returns Show also remains available on Spotify.
3. Subscribe for my free daily blog
Subscribe for my free daily blog with some 3¾ million hits here.
You can also catch up with me daily on Twitter here, where I'm active daily and have over 14,900 followers.
By the way, I'm an 8-times published author on finance, investing, and business, so you can check out some of my books here.
My new book, co-authored with Cate Bakos is available to buy here or on Amazon here - follow our book release on Facebook here and at our Buy Right podcast series here.
4. Work with me privately
For a limited time you can book in a free diagnosis call with me here, so book in a call today.
Inflation was lower than expected in February, coming in 2.4 per cent versus 2.5 per cent expected.
Source: ABS
The trimmed mean inflation figure was also lower than expected, declining to 2.7 per cent, which was the equal-lowest figure for underlying inflation since 2021.
Indeed, all of the analytical measures of inflation fell appreciably in February.
Source: ABS
And so, inflation has continued to fall pretty much unabated from 8.4 per cent to 2.4 per cent.
Cost of living relief
With the electricity price relief extended in the Federal Budget, disinflation is likely to continue, and the 6-month annualised pace for services price inflation has also fallen to just 2.3 per cent, suggesting that inflationary pressures have largely dissipated.
There was still quite high inflation reported for housing rents at 5½ per cent over the year - albeit the lowest since May 2023 - but in real time inflation in asking rents has fallen away to about 2 to 3 per cent, and so rents will likely continue to be disinflationary.
Meanwhile housing construction price inflation continues to fall from an eye-watering high of 21.7 per cent in July 2022, to just 1.6 per cent (h/t Shane Wright of Fairfax).
It looks like wages growth will be below forecast this quarter, and the quarterly inflation result will also almost certainly be soft, meaning that an interest rate cut by May appears somewhat more likely.
Australia now has a lower headline inflation rate than the US (2.8 per cent), UK (2.8 per cent), and Canada and (2.6 per cent).
The mid-wit trap?
Overall, inflation keeps falling, then.
The most widely held view has been that there are potentially risks of inflation taking off again due to international events, geopolitical risks, tariffs, or Australia's stronger than expected jobs market.
Maybe we've been over-thinking it, though, and we might instead be ultimately heading back to that pre-pandemic sort of environment where there was ultra-low inflation despite extremely low interest rates and regular bursts of QE in the US and Europe?
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In other news, quarterly engineering construction activity hit a record high $10½ billion in New South Wales on massive infrastructure spending, and at the same time a record high of $7¼ billion in Victoria.
Engineering construction is also trending higher in the resources states of Western Australia and Queensland, but remains well below the mining boom highs in these states.
TheAustralian Property Podcast is rapidly becoming one of Australia's biggest business podcasts, now with well over 50,000 audio downloads per month, and growing fast.
And our popular Low Rates High Returns Show also remains available on Spotify.
3. Subscribe for my free daily blog
Subscribe for my free daily blog with some 3¾ million hits here.
You can also catch up with me daily on Twitter here, where I'm active daily and have over 14,900 followers.
By the way, I'm an 8-times published author on finance, investing, and business, so you can check out some of my books here.
My new book, co-authored with Cate Bakos is available to buy here or on Amazon here - follow our book release on Facebook here and at our Buy Right podcast series here.
4. Work with me privately
For a limited time you can book in a free diagnosis call with me here, so book in a call today.
TheAustralian Property Podcast is rapidly becoming one of Australia's biggest business podcasts, now with well over 50,000 audio downloads per month, and growing fast.
And our popular Low Rates High Returns Show also remains available on Spotify.
3. Subscribe for my free daily blog
Subscribe for my free daily blog with some 3¾ million hits here.
You can also catch up with me daily on Twitter here, where I'm active daily and have over 14,900 followers.
By the way, I'm an 8-times published author on finance, investing, and business, so you can check out some of my books here.
My new book, co-authored with Cate Bakos is available to buy here or on Amazon here - follow our book release on Facebook here and at our Buy Right podcast series here.
4. Work with me privately
For a limited time you can book in a free diagnosis call with me here, so book in a call today.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers handed down the 2025-2026 Budget tonight in a markedly confident fashion.
There wasn't anything too surprising included, with many of the key measures already released or leaked over recent days.
Inflation is expected to be back in the target band in the middle of this year, and with GDP growth expected to be 2½ per cent over the coming financial year, it is hoped that the private sector will soon be driving the economy again.
Electricity bill relief has been once again extended with a new $150 discount for each household, which will mechanically reduce headline inflation (but will also in turn reduce inflation expectations, and of course many price increases in the economy are indexed to the headline inflation figure too).
It appears that are to be Budget deficits out as far as the eye can see, with the NDIS standing out as a large driver of expenditure growth over recent years, growing yet further from $47 billion to $63 billion by FY2029...a larger spending line than the defence budget.
When taking into account the significant off-balance sheet measures, the deficits do look a bit ugly, and government debt is expected to increase as a percentage of GDP over the course of the decade (although at the same time it's true that resources-rich Australia is far better placed than most peer economies).
Dwelling investment (i.e. the construction of homes) is expected to pick up very sharply over the next two years, although there was nothing new in the Federal Budget that will contribute to this, so it must be mostly driven by the market cycle and lower interest rates.
Net overseas migration is forecast to fall from immigration of 435,000 to 225,000 by FY2027, though whether that actually comes to pass given ongoing skills shortages - or mismatches - and the booming international students sector is a whole other question.
Probably not, is my guess.
The government will extend the scope of the Help to Buy scheme, so that 40,000 first homebuyers should access the scheme over 4 years, and with higher price thresholds than previously announced.
Foreign buyers will still be largely locked out of the housing market in Australia, by tax surcharges for new dwellings and legal restrictions on the purchase established housing.
Student HECS debt relief and modest tax cuts will be gratefully received by many consumers.
The proposed taxing of unrealised gains in superannuation funds will be less popular, if not unworkable for many investors and business owners.
This was an election Budget with little contained within to spook the horses.
The Federal election due to be called imminently and the incumbent ALP government is now moving in to be slight favourites with the bookies.
---
P.S. Whenever you’re ready…here are 4 ways I can help you:
TheAustralian Property Podcast is rapidly becoming one of Australia's biggest business podcasts, now with well over 50,000 audio downloads per month, and growing fast.
And our popular Low Rates High Returns Show also remains available on Spotify.
3. Subscribe for my free daily blog
Subscribe for my free daily blog with some 3¾ million hits here.
You can also catch up with me daily on Twitter here, where I'm active daily and have over 14,900 followers.
By the way, I'm an 8-times published author on finance, investing, and business, so you can check out some of my books here.
My new book, co-authored with Cate Bakos is available to buy here or on Amazon here - follow our book release on Facebook here and at our Buy Right podcast series here.
4. Work with me privately
For a limited time you can book in a free diagnosis call with me here, so book in a call today.
The Queensland government has at last announced Olympic Stadium plans for 2032.
And it seems the "no new stadiums" pledge has been...well, parked, in favour of "quite a few new stadiums".
It was finally confirmed, after much conjecture, that Victoria Park will see the construction of a new 60,000-seater stadium to host the games, at an estimated cost of $3.4 billion.
Premier Crisafulli noted that there was no longer enough time to fit in an upgrade to The Gabba cricket ground.
I was at The Gabba at the weekend - go Lions! - and the ground certainly isn't up to the required modern Olympics Games standards in its present state.
That having been said, the suburb of Woolloongabba is already set to benefit from the Cross River Rail project and existing suburb revitalisation plans, so perhaps the existing stadium can be gradually refreshed without major disruptions (including for AFL and cricket matches, and for the local East Brisbane State school).
Some savings have been made via the shelving of plans for the Brisbane Live Arena at Roma Street, which had been previously slated to cost the government $2½ billion.
Huge investments
The total initial estimated budget for the games is $7.1 billion, which will also include a vast new and improved national aquatic centre at the existing Centenary Pool in Brisbane with more than 25,000 seats, and a 3,000-seater arena at the Queensland Tennis Centre, alongside 12 new match courts.
The Olympics athletes village will be positioned at the RNA Showgrounds in Bowen Hills, in inner-city Brisbane, with a 20,000 seat arena earmarked for the venue to hold bigger and better EKKA events in the future.
Given the power of unions and the cost of labour up here at the moment, I wouldn't be at all surprised if the total cost to the government coffers ends up being triple the budgeted figure by the time the games rolls around.
There was also plenty of regional investment for both venues and infrastructure announced across the state for Redlands, Logan, Moreton Bay, and Gold Coast, as well as Sunshine Coast, Maryborough, Wide Bay, Toowoomba, Cairns, Townsville, Rockhampton, and Mackay.
The rowing events in Rockhampton's Fitzroy River will be an interesting sight to behold...reckon I'd beat all Steve Redgrave's records meself rowing in there, given the lively nature of the wildlife!
Overall, it's great to get some clarity on the plans for the games which are now only a matter of 7 years away.
Although this will be largely a Brisbane Olympics, it will also be a state of Queensland Olympics, and the funding will represent the biggest ever investment in Queensland's infrastructure.
Enough of the dithering and indecision...now we can crack on with it.
---
P.S. Whenever you’re ready…here are 4 ways I can help you:
TheAustralian Property Podcast is rapidly becoming one of Australia's biggest business podcasts, now with well over 50,000 audio downloads per month, and growing fast.
And our popular Low Rates High Returns Show also remains available on Spotify.
3. Subscribe for my free daily blog
Subscribe for my free daily blog with some 3¾ million hits here.
You can also catch up with me daily on Twitter here, where I'm active daily and have over 14,900 followers.
By the way, I'm an 8-times published author on finance and investing, so you can check out some of my books here.
My new book, co-authored with Cate Bakos is available to buy here or on Amazon here - follow our book release on Facebook here and at our Buy Right podcast series here.
4. Work with me privately
For a limited time you can book in a free diagnosis call with me here, so book in a call today.
