House prices break records as rent unaffordably high
The 31-year-old sales worker from Melbourne had dreams of buying a house, but adjusted his expectations to focus on buying an apartment instead.
"It would have been great to have a house, but look, as a single it was just completely unattainable," he told AAP.
"Apartment living was realistically all that was going to be within aspiration for me."
It's an increasingly common story across Australian cities, with June-quarter data from real estate portal Domain showing all eight capitals had simultaneous house price growth for the first time in four years.
Sydney's median house price soared to a record high $1.7 million, while Brisbane, Adelaide and Melbourne medians are above $1 million, according to Domain, and Perth's median house price grew above $950,000.
Unit prices experienced their strongest quarterly growth in two years, jumping to a national median price of $689,588 and record highs in four capital cities in the Domain data for the June quarter.
Unaffordably high rent was the catalyst for Mr David knuckling down to save for his apartment, with his previous one-bedroom rental jumping to almost $500 a week.
"What I was paying in rent plus what I was saving was actually less than what the mortgage repayments were going to be," he said.
Limited housing supply is driving prices higher, Domain research and economics chief Nicola Powell says, with the market continuing to outperform expectations despite cost-of-living pressures and economic uncertainty.
"We're still not building fast enough to meet population growth," she said.
"Without a substantial boost in new housing, price pressures will remain, regardless of further rate cuts."
Rental supply is a major concern, with property analyst Cotality observing the number of listings is about one-quarter less than the five-year average.
Rents rose 1.3 per cent nationally over the June quarter and remain unaffordable for many tenants, according to the company's economist Kaytlin Ezzy.
"While the moderation in the pace of rental growth is welcome news to many tenants, rents are still increasing," she said.
Rents have jumped more than 40 per cent in the past five years to reach a national average of $665 per week according to Cotality.
That equates to almost $200 more per week and more than $10,000 a year, and is well below the 15 per cent rise in average wages during the same five-year period.
Many home buyers are also under the pump, according to Roy Morgan research showing mortgage stress affecting more than 28 per cent of households in the June quarter.
This figure is higher than when the Reserve Bank started cutting rates in February, which Roy Morgan attributes to increased borrowing by purchasers and larger amounts owing on homes overall.
After years of rent rises and blocks of land priced out of reach, aspiring home owner Matthew David looked to the sky.
The 31-year-old sales worker from Melbourne had dreams of buying a house, but adjusted his expectations to focus on buying an apartment instead.
"It would have been great to have a house, but look, as a single it was just completely unattainable," he told AAP.
"Apartment living was realistically all that was going to be within aspiration for me."
It's an increasingly common story across Australian cities, with June-quarter data from real estate portal Domain showing all eight capitals had simultaneous house price growth for the first time in four years.
Sydney's median house price soared to a record high $1.7 million, while Brisbane, Adelaide and Melbourne medians are above $1 million, according to Domain, and Perth's median house price grew above $950,000.
Unit prices experienced their strongest quarterly growth in two years, jumping to a national median price of $689,588 and record highs in four capital cities in the Domain data for the June quarter.
Unaffordably high rent was the catalyst for Mr David knuckling down to save for his apartment, with his previous one-bedroom rental jumping to almost $500 a week.
"What I was paying in rent plus what I was saving was actually less than what the mortgage repayments were going to be," he said.
Limited housing supply is driving prices higher, Domain research and economics chief Nicola Powell says, with the market continuing to outperform expectations despite cost-of-living pressures and economic uncertainty.
"We're still not building fast enough to meet population growth," she said.
"Without a substantial boost in new housing, price pressures will remain, regardless of further rate cuts."
Rental supply is a major concern, with property analyst Cotality observing the number of listings is about one-quarter less than the five-year average.
Rents rose 1.3 per cent nationally over the June quarter and remain unaffordable for many tenants, according to the company's economist Kaytlin Ezzy.
"While the moderation in the pace of rental growth is welcome news to many tenants, rents are still increasing," she said.
Rents have jumped more than 40 per cent in the past five years to reach a national average of $665 per week according to Cotality.
That equates to almost $200 more per week and more than $10,000 a year, and is well below the 15 per cent rise in average wages during the same five-year period.
Many home buyers are also under the pump, according to Roy Morgan research showing mortgage stress affecting more than 28 per cent of households in the June quarter.
This figure is higher than when the Reserve Bank started cutting rates in February, which Roy Morgan attributes to increased borrowing by purchasers and larger amounts owing on homes overall.
After years of rent rises and blocks of land priced out of reach, aspiring home owner Matthew David looked to the sky.
The 31-year-old sales worker from Melbourne had dreams of buying a house, but adjusted his expectations to focus on buying an apartment instead.
"It would have been great to have a house, but look, as a single it was just completely unattainable," he told AAP.
"Apartment living was realistically all that was going to be within aspiration for me."
It's an increasingly common story across Australian cities, with June-quarter data from real estate portal Domain showing all eight capitals had simultaneous house price growth for the first time in four years.
Sydney's median house price soared to a record high $1.7 million, while Brisbane, Adelaide and Melbourne medians are above $1 million, according to Domain, and Perth's median house price grew above $950,000.
Unit prices experienced their strongest quarterly growth in two years, jumping to a national median price of $689,588 and record highs in four capital cities in the Domain data for the June quarter.
Unaffordably high rent was the catalyst for Mr David knuckling down to save for his apartment, with his previous one-bedroom rental jumping to almost $500 a week.
"What I was paying in rent plus what I was saving was actually less than what the mortgage repayments were going to be," he said.
Limited housing supply is driving prices higher, Domain research and economics chief Nicola Powell says, with the market continuing to outperform expectations despite cost-of-living pressures and economic uncertainty.
"We're still not building fast enough to meet population growth," she said.
"Without a substantial boost in new housing, price pressures will remain, regardless of further rate cuts."
Rental supply is a major concern, with property analyst Cotality observing the number of listings is about one-quarter less than the five-year average.
Rents rose 1.3 per cent nationally over the June quarter and remain unaffordable for many tenants, according to the company's economist Kaytlin Ezzy.
"While the moderation in the pace of rental growth is welcome news to many tenants, rents are still increasing," she said.
Rents have jumped more than 40 per cent in the past five years to reach a national average of $665 per week according to Cotality.
That equates to almost $200 more per week and more than $10,000 a year, and is well below the 15 per cent rise in average wages during the same five-year period.
Many home buyers are also under the pump, according to Roy Morgan research showing mortgage stress affecting more than 28 per cent of households in the June quarter.
This figure is higher than when the Reserve Bank started cutting rates in February, which Roy Morgan attributes to increased borrowing by purchasers and larger amounts owing on homes overall.
After years of rent rises and blocks of land priced out of reach, aspiring home owner Matthew David looked to the sky.
The 31-year-old sales worker from Melbourne had dreams of buying a house, but adjusted his expectations to focus on buying an apartment instead.
"It would have been great to have a house, but look, as a single it was just completely unattainable," he told AAP.
"Apartment living was realistically all that was going to be within aspiration for me."
It's an increasingly common story across Australian cities, with June-quarter data from real estate portal Domain showing all eight capitals had simultaneous house price growth for the first time in four years.
Sydney's median house price soared to a record high $1.7 million, while Brisbane, Adelaide and Melbourne medians are above $1 million, according to Domain, and Perth's median house price grew above $950,000.
Unit prices experienced their strongest quarterly growth in two years, jumping to a national median price of $689,588 and record highs in four capital cities in the Domain data for the June quarter.
Unaffordably high rent was the catalyst for Mr David knuckling down to save for his apartment, with his previous one-bedroom rental jumping to almost $500 a week.
"What I was paying in rent plus what I was saving was actually less than what the mortgage repayments were going to be," he said.
Limited housing supply is driving prices higher, Domain research and economics chief Nicola Powell says, with the market continuing to outperform expectations despite cost-of-living pressures and economic uncertainty.
"We're still not building fast enough to meet population growth," she said.
"Without a substantial boost in new housing, price pressures will remain, regardless of further rate cuts."
Rental supply is a major concern, with property analyst Cotality observing the number of listings is about one-quarter less than the five-year average.
Rents rose 1.3 per cent nationally over the June quarter and remain unaffordable for many tenants, according to the company's economist Kaytlin Ezzy.
"While the moderation in the pace of rental growth is welcome news to many tenants, rents are still increasing," she said.
Rents have jumped more than 40 per cent in the past five years to reach a national average of $665 per week according to Cotality.
That equates to almost $200 more per week and more than $10,000 a year, and is well below the 15 per cent rise in average wages during the same five-year period.
Many home buyers are also under the pump, according to Roy Morgan research showing mortgage stress affecting more than 28 per cent of households in the June quarter.
This figure is higher than when the Reserve Bank started cutting rates in February, which Roy Morgan attributes to increased borrowing by purchasers and larger amounts owing on homes overall.
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The Advertiser
12 minutes ago
- The Advertiser
Rivers of gold pour into Kalgoorlie for mining forum
Mining has always been an industry of boom and bust. The fickle fortunes of Australia's biggest export sector were clear to see on opening day of the annual Diggers and Dealers conference on Monday. With bullion prices sitting at record highs, goldminers Evolution and Ramelius Resources could scarcely conceal their glee as they boasted to investors, analysts and rivals of the rivers of cash flowing their way. Just a few years ago, Ramelius was targeting an ore grade of two grams per tonne and making good money, chief executive Mark Zeptner said. Today, following its merger with Simon Lawson-founded Spartan Resources, it's hitting an average grade of three grams of gold per tonne of ore mined. "So it's fair to say at a three gram per tonne head grade and the current gold price, we are killing it," Mr Zeptner said, grinning. After "sparring" with Mr Lawson in the past year or so, the pair find themselves at the helm of one of the ASX's largest goldminers following a $2.5 billion merger. Mr Zeptner said he would handle the "boring" financial operations of the new joint entity - "that is if you find ridiculous cash flows boring" - while Mr Lawson, who has stayed on as deputy chairman, said he was content to focus on exploration. "Mark and I, after stopping sparring, agreed that it would be a great combination to bring that skill set together, that operational excellence and that exploration upside … hopefully, that sizzle," he said. Mr Lawson is a rockstar in the WA Goldfields town of Kalgoorlie, which is hosting the mining forum for a 34th time. The price of gold has almost doubled in less than three years to nearly $5200 an ounce, flooding the coffers of miners. Following the Ramelius-Spartan tie-up and Northern Star's $5 billion takeover of De Grey Mining, there is still plenty of M&A appetite in the sector. Miners attending the forum are sitting on astronomical cash and bullion reserves, with five companies - Northern Star, Ramelius, Evolution, Vault and Regis - on more than $500 million each, according to gold mining consultants Surbiton Associates. "Perhaps they could be used for further acquisitions, although prices now paid to obtain such new assets are very high," director Sandra Close said. "The concern is that the larger the cash reserves become, the more the company may become a tempting takeover target." But things were less rosy for uranium miners Paladin and Boss Energy. The short seller targets were the first miners to present on Monday and had a tough story to sell. Falling uranium prices have smashed share valuations, while Paladin and Boss have suffered output downgrades at their Langer Heinrich and Honeymoon mines, respectively. Additionally, hopes for an Australian nuclear power industry to boost demand for the radioactive ore were dashed when the Peter Dutton-led coalition, which championed the policy, was trounced at the May election. But governments globally were looking increasingly favourably at uranium to power their energy needs; a promising prospect for the industry, outgoing Boss Energy chief executive Duncan Craib said. "Australia has a once-in-a-generation opportunity to contribute in achieving net zero and capitalise on the inevitable surge of global uranium demand that will accompany it," he said. Despite his bullish comments, Mr Craib shied away from the media pack, avoiding the customary question-and-answer with journalists following his presentation. There was plenty of support for nuclear energy in the event's curtain-raiser, a panel discussion between Canadian nuclear advocate Chris Keefer, Centre for Independent Studies energy expert Aidan Morrison and the right-wing think tank's executive director Tom Switzer. Australia's best shot at reducing carbon emissions in electricity generation remained nuclear power, but even then it would not be possible to achieve net zero by 2050, Mr Morrison said. Mining has always been an industry of boom and bust. The fickle fortunes of Australia's biggest export sector were clear to see on opening day of the annual Diggers and Dealers conference on Monday. With bullion prices sitting at record highs, goldminers Evolution and Ramelius Resources could scarcely conceal their glee as they boasted to investors, analysts and rivals of the rivers of cash flowing their way. Just a few years ago, Ramelius was targeting an ore grade of two grams per tonne and making good money, chief executive Mark Zeptner said. Today, following its merger with Simon Lawson-founded Spartan Resources, it's hitting an average grade of three grams of gold per tonne of ore mined. "So it's fair to say at a three gram per tonne head grade and the current gold price, we are killing it," Mr Zeptner said, grinning. After "sparring" with Mr Lawson in the past year or so, the pair find themselves at the helm of one of the ASX's largest goldminers following a $2.5 billion merger. Mr Zeptner said he would handle the "boring" financial operations of the new joint entity - "that is if you find ridiculous cash flows boring" - while Mr Lawson, who has stayed on as deputy chairman, said he was content to focus on exploration. "Mark and I, after stopping sparring, agreed that it would be a great combination to bring that skill set together, that operational excellence and that exploration upside … hopefully, that sizzle," he said. Mr Lawson is a rockstar in the WA Goldfields town of Kalgoorlie, which is hosting the mining forum for a 34th time. The price of gold has almost doubled in less than three years to nearly $5200 an ounce, flooding the coffers of miners. Following the Ramelius-Spartan tie-up and Northern Star's $5 billion takeover of De Grey Mining, there is still plenty of M&A appetite in the sector. Miners attending the forum are sitting on astronomical cash and bullion reserves, with five companies - Northern Star, Ramelius, Evolution, Vault and Regis - on more than $500 million each, according to gold mining consultants Surbiton Associates. "Perhaps they could be used for further acquisitions, although prices now paid to obtain such new assets are very high," director Sandra Close said. "The concern is that the larger the cash reserves become, the more the company may become a tempting takeover target." But things were less rosy for uranium miners Paladin and Boss Energy. The short seller targets were the first miners to present on Monday and had a tough story to sell. Falling uranium prices have smashed share valuations, while Paladin and Boss have suffered output downgrades at their Langer Heinrich and Honeymoon mines, respectively. Additionally, hopes for an Australian nuclear power industry to boost demand for the radioactive ore were dashed when the Peter Dutton-led coalition, which championed the policy, was trounced at the May election. But governments globally were looking increasingly favourably at uranium to power their energy needs; a promising prospect for the industry, outgoing Boss Energy chief executive Duncan Craib said. "Australia has a once-in-a-generation opportunity to contribute in achieving net zero and capitalise on the inevitable surge of global uranium demand that will accompany it," he said. Despite his bullish comments, Mr Craib shied away from the media pack, avoiding the customary question-and-answer with journalists following his presentation. There was plenty of support for nuclear energy in the event's curtain-raiser, a panel discussion between Canadian nuclear advocate Chris Keefer, Centre for Independent Studies energy expert Aidan Morrison and the right-wing think tank's executive director Tom Switzer. Australia's best shot at reducing carbon emissions in electricity generation remained nuclear power, but even then it would not be possible to achieve net zero by 2050, Mr Morrison said. Mining has always been an industry of boom and bust. The fickle fortunes of Australia's biggest export sector were clear to see on opening day of the annual Diggers and Dealers conference on Monday. With bullion prices sitting at record highs, goldminers Evolution and Ramelius Resources could scarcely conceal their glee as they boasted to investors, analysts and rivals of the rivers of cash flowing their way. Just a few years ago, Ramelius was targeting an ore grade of two grams per tonne and making good money, chief executive Mark Zeptner said. Today, following its merger with Simon Lawson-founded Spartan Resources, it's hitting an average grade of three grams of gold per tonne of ore mined. "So it's fair to say at a three gram per tonne head grade and the current gold price, we are killing it," Mr Zeptner said, grinning. After "sparring" with Mr Lawson in the past year or so, the pair find themselves at the helm of one of the ASX's largest goldminers following a $2.5 billion merger. Mr Zeptner said he would handle the "boring" financial operations of the new joint entity - "that is if you find ridiculous cash flows boring" - while Mr Lawson, who has stayed on as deputy chairman, said he was content to focus on exploration. "Mark and I, after stopping sparring, agreed that it would be a great combination to bring that skill set together, that operational excellence and that exploration upside … hopefully, that sizzle," he said. Mr Lawson is a rockstar in the WA Goldfields town of Kalgoorlie, which is hosting the mining forum for a 34th time. The price of gold has almost doubled in less than three years to nearly $5200 an ounce, flooding the coffers of miners. Following the Ramelius-Spartan tie-up and Northern Star's $5 billion takeover of De Grey Mining, there is still plenty of M&A appetite in the sector. Miners attending the forum are sitting on astronomical cash and bullion reserves, with five companies - Northern Star, Ramelius, Evolution, Vault and Regis - on more than $500 million each, according to gold mining consultants Surbiton Associates. "Perhaps they could be used for further acquisitions, although prices now paid to obtain such new assets are very high," director Sandra Close said. "The concern is that the larger the cash reserves become, the more the company may become a tempting takeover target." But things were less rosy for uranium miners Paladin and Boss Energy. The short seller targets were the first miners to present on Monday and had a tough story to sell. Falling uranium prices have smashed share valuations, while Paladin and Boss have suffered output downgrades at their Langer Heinrich and Honeymoon mines, respectively. Additionally, hopes for an Australian nuclear power industry to boost demand for the radioactive ore were dashed when the Peter Dutton-led coalition, which championed the policy, was trounced at the May election. But governments globally were looking increasingly favourably at uranium to power their energy needs; a promising prospect for the industry, outgoing Boss Energy chief executive Duncan Craib said. "Australia has a once-in-a-generation opportunity to contribute in achieving net zero and capitalise on the inevitable surge of global uranium demand that will accompany it," he said. Despite his bullish comments, Mr Craib shied away from the media pack, avoiding the customary question-and-answer with journalists following his presentation. There was plenty of support for nuclear energy in the event's curtain-raiser, a panel discussion between Canadian nuclear advocate Chris Keefer, Centre for Independent Studies energy expert Aidan Morrison and the right-wing think tank's executive director Tom Switzer. Australia's best shot at reducing carbon emissions in electricity generation remained nuclear power, but even then it would not be possible to achieve net zero by 2050, Mr Morrison said. Mining has always been an industry of boom and bust. The fickle fortunes of Australia's biggest export sector were clear to see on opening day of the annual Diggers and Dealers conference on Monday. With bullion prices sitting at record highs, goldminers Evolution and Ramelius Resources could scarcely conceal their glee as they boasted to investors, analysts and rivals of the rivers of cash flowing their way. Just a few years ago, Ramelius was targeting an ore grade of two grams per tonne and making good money, chief executive Mark Zeptner said. Today, following its merger with Simon Lawson-founded Spartan Resources, it's hitting an average grade of three grams of gold per tonne of ore mined. "So it's fair to say at a three gram per tonne head grade and the current gold price, we are killing it," Mr Zeptner said, grinning. After "sparring" with Mr Lawson in the past year or so, the pair find themselves at the helm of one of the ASX's largest goldminers following a $2.5 billion merger. Mr Zeptner said he would handle the "boring" financial operations of the new joint entity - "that is if you find ridiculous cash flows boring" - while Mr Lawson, who has stayed on as deputy chairman, said he was content to focus on exploration. "Mark and I, after stopping sparring, agreed that it would be a great combination to bring that skill set together, that operational excellence and that exploration upside … hopefully, that sizzle," he said. Mr Lawson is a rockstar in the WA Goldfields town of Kalgoorlie, which is hosting the mining forum for a 34th time. The price of gold has almost doubled in less than three years to nearly $5200 an ounce, flooding the coffers of miners. Following the Ramelius-Spartan tie-up and Northern Star's $5 billion takeover of De Grey Mining, there is still plenty of M&A appetite in the sector. Miners attending the forum are sitting on astronomical cash and bullion reserves, with five companies - Northern Star, Ramelius, Evolution, Vault and Regis - on more than $500 million each, according to gold mining consultants Surbiton Associates. "Perhaps they could be used for further acquisitions, although prices now paid to obtain such new assets are very high," director Sandra Close said. "The concern is that the larger the cash reserves become, the more the company may become a tempting takeover target." But things were less rosy for uranium miners Paladin and Boss Energy. The short seller targets were the first miners to present on Monday and had a tough story to sell. Falling uranium prices have smashed share valuations, while Paladin and Boss have suffered output downgrades at their Langer Heinrich and Honeymoon mines, respectively. Additionally, hopes for an Australian nuclear power industry to boost demand for the radioactive ore were dashed when the Peter Dutton-led coalition, which championed the policy, was trounced at the May election. But governments globally were looking increasingly favourably at uranium to power their energy needs; a promising prospect for the industry, outgoing Boss Energy chief executive Duncan Craib said. "Australia has a once-in-a-generation opportunity to contribute in achieving net zero and capitalise on the inevitable surge of global uranium demand that will accompany it," he said. Despite his bullish comments, Mr Craib shied away from the media pack, avoiding the customary question-and-answer with journalists following his presentation. There was plenty of support for nuclear energy in the event's curtain-raiser, a panel discussion between Canadian nuclear advocate Chris Keefer, Centre for Independent Studies energy expert Aidan Morrison and the right-wing think tank's executive director Tom Switzer. Australia's best shot at reducing carbon emissions in electricity generation remained nuclear power, but even then it would not be possible to achieve net zero by 2050, Mr Morrison said.
Sydney Morning Herald
3 hours ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
ASX closes flat as miners outshine banks; gold stocks rally
Welcome to your five-minute recap of the trading day. The numbers The Australian sharemarket has shrugged off signs of weakness in the world's biggest economy to close flat, as a rally in mining stocks helped offset declines in the major banks and energy companies. The S&P/ASX 200 closed 1.7 points higher on Monday, at 8663.70 points, reversing a fall in the index earlier in the day. Six of the market's 11 sectors fell, and the weakest sectors for the day were energy, financials and industrials. The flat performance followed a slump on Wall Street on Friday, as investors reacted to surprisingly weak figures on US jobs growth and the latest developments in US President Donald Trump's trade war. The Australian dollar was fetching US64.83¢ at 4.50pm AEST. The lifters Miners posted a strong session, buoyed by a higher iron ore price and strength in the gold price. Global mining giant BHP rose 0.9 per cent, Fortescue was up 1.5 per cent and Rio Tinto gained 0.4 per cent. Gold miners performed particularly well after a rise in the price of the precious metal. Evolution Mining jumped 2.6 per cent and Northern Star Resources surged 5.6 per cent. Shares in Endeavour – the company that runs Dan Murphy's and BWS – jumped 3 per cent after executive chairman Ari Mervis suddenly quit his role over 'disagreements with the board' as he edged closer to handing over the keys of the business to incoming chief executive Jayne Hrdlicka. Consumer staple stocks also had a solid day: supermarket giant Woolworths rose 1.3 per cent, and rival Coles lifted 1.7 per cent.
Sydney Morning Herald
3 hours ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
WA uranium mining ban takes centre stage at Diggers and Dealers opener
Australia is sinking billions of dollars into an uncertain bid to become the world's leading green hydrogen exporter, but it already has the ingredients to become a renewable energy superpower, a Canadian physician-turned-nuclear evangelist says. All that is needed is the stroke of a pen to banish one rule that stands in the way. Australia already exports enough uranium to offset the emissions of the country's entire coal fleet, but only South Australia and the Northern Territory allow the mining of uranium ore. Despite Western Australia boasting vast reserves of the radioactive metal, the Labor state government has had a ban on new uranium projects since 2017. Dr Chris Keefer, a Canadian nuclear influencer headlining the annual Diggers and Dealers mining conference in Kalgoorlie, urged a rethink, arguing it would help global emissions and the Australian economy. 'There's been a lot of talk, and I understand that it's gone up in smoke now, about Australia becoming a hydrogen exporter, a green energy superpower, the Saudi Arabia of hydrogen, right?' Keefer told a tentful of miners and investors in the WA gold mining town. 'And it's ignoring the fact that you already are a clean energy superpower in terms of your exports. 'So one half of Australia's emissions are offset by its uranium exports, which are used around the world instead of, you know, a mix of coal and gas. Your entire coal fleet's emissions are essentially offset by the uranium that you export. 'So hopefully, God willing, sense will return, and you'll be able to contribute more.'
