According to CoreLogic’s most recent monthly house price report, Melbourne was the cheapest major capital city property market, with a median price of $772,561 as of February 28, 2025. Melbourne’s relative affordability comes after a value gain of only 8.2% over the last five years, compared to a 38.9% increase nationally. The following chart, derived
Another very mixed session across Asian stock markets reflecting the growing unease over the weekend as the April 2 “tariff letter” deadline starts to come into focus. While Wall Street managed a positive return on Friday night it was marginal at best with Chinese markets now pulling back while local stocks also treaded water. The
With the election expected to be called this weekend for a poll date of either May 3 or May 10, opinion polls remain too close to call. The latest Redbridge polling, released on Thursday, showed that Labor was ahead 51% to 49% on a two-party preferred basis, hitting the lead for the first time in
The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) has been notoriously poor at forecasting Australian wage growth. For the past 15 years, the RBA’s Statement of Monetary Policy (SoMP) has consistently forecast higher wage growth than realised. The RBA looks to be making the same mistakes, with Australian wage growth now falling despite Australia’s low unemployment rate
Every time I read one of these articles, the Grattan Institute appears as the independent voice of reason. SMH. As the risk of shortfalls edges closer, state and federal energy ministers are becoming increasingly worried that talks between LNG terminal developers and prospective customers appear deadlocked, with neither party able to agree on price and
Goldman with the argument. USD: Diminished, not finished. We downgraded our Dollar forecasts last week but still expect some Dollar strength from current levels. …we think the market has rapidly repriced the shift in the growth outlook, and ran ahead of the forecast changes our teams have made for 2025. In the case of the
Former Treasury Secretary Dr Martin Parkinson, who led the federal government’s 2023 Migration Review, admitted that Australia’s mass immigration policy has failed to provide the nation with the skills it needs and has contributed to poor productivity growth. As part of a campaign entitled Activate Australia’s Skills, Dr Parkinson called for a nationally cohesive approach
The great coal crash continues. Thermal coal has broken $100 and continues to fall. Coking coal is the mirror image. I see no end in sight to either. The less gloomy news is the price falls are more or less on track for the budget. Key commodity prices are assumed to decline from elevated levels
In late 2023, newly appointed Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan ignored expert advice and signed the tunnelling contract to build the first stage of the $200 billion Suburban Rail Loop (SRL). “We are full steam ahead with the Suburban Rail Loop – by 2026, tunnel boring machines will be in the ground and Victorians will be
The Market Ear with a pearler. A key risk to the market Foreigners hold a record amount of US stocks. And they have just started selling. Deutsche Bank says that there could easily be one trillion dollars of foreign selling. This is way bigger than the corporate demand (=the biggest buyer) estimated this year. Is