Economic updates

The latest listings data shows the sales and rental markets moving in opposite directions. Buyers are seeing more choice while renters are seeing less, and the Federal Budget is landing into that environment, not creating it.

Sydney has been a two-speed market for some time, with the cheaper end outperforming the premium end. The May data is the first sign that the order of those two speeds may be about to invert.

Luxury property premiums used to be straightforward to read. Views, square metres, postcode, finishes. The technology buyers now expect at the top of the market is changing what those premiums actually price.

For most of the past two decades, electric and luxury sat in different conversations in the Australian market. The categories have now converged in a way that is reshaping which brands are winning at the top end.

Looking offshore is not a decision most Australian property investors have needed to make. The combination of Budget changes at home and conditions in New Zealand has put that question back on the table for the first time in years.

The Budget's shift from the 50 per cent CGT discount to inflation indexation has been read as a tougher tax treatment for property investors. Whether it actually raises more revenue depends on conditions that are not guaranteed.

The Budget's investor changes are designed to moderate house prices by shifting demand toward new builds. What happens to the established rental pool when investors step back is the question worth sitting with.

Policy change rarely lands neatly on its intended target. Measures aimed at investor demand and new supply can ripple into the willingness to transact, and that ripple travels further than house prices.

The Federal Budget has confirmed changes to negative gearing and CGT. Here's what shifted, why it matters, and what it means for the market.

The Federal Government's decision to gut negative gearing and wind back the capital gains tax discount is not a housing affordability fix.

The 2026 Budget slows NDIS payment growth by $37.8bn over four years, with significant implications for Australia's healthcare and aged care property sectors.

The 2026 Federal Budget shifts focus from demand to supply, targeting the infrastructure and workforce barriers holding back housing delivery across Australia.