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13 October 2025
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With rising home prices and falling affordability, political leaders preach reform. But asset disclosures show many are heavily invested in property - raising doubts about whose interests housing policy really protects.
Property investment in SMSFs is a popular strategy for retirement wealth. Compliance is essential to avoid risks like the sole purpose test, non-arm’s length income, and property development issues.
Improving housing mobility in Australia is crucial for enhancing both individual well-being and the economy. Potential reforms include ensuring greater rental security and incentivising downsizing among older homeowners.
Understanding the property cycle can be a useful tool to make informed decisions and stay focused on long-term goals. This looks at where we are in the commercial property cycle and the potential opportunities for investors.
Capitalisation rates, commonly known as ‘cap rates’, are a fundamental metric in Australian property investing. However, this seemingly simple and ubiquitous measure can be far more complex to use when comparing different types of properties.
Healthcare has been a bright spot in an otherwise challenging environment for commercial property. With an ageing population, the sector's future remains bright, and here's a look at the best ways to play it.
Global REITs have been out of favour for some time. While office remains a concern, the rest of the sector is in good shape and offers compelling value, with many REITs trading below underlying asset replacement costs.
Land lease housing has become increasingly popular in Australia, especially among retirees, as it appears like a way to get cheap housing that is also a good investment. But regulatory quirks mean we all pay.
By our estimate, housing is 40% overvalued, making it one of the world's priciest assets and even more expensive than the 'Magnificent Seven' US tech stocks. That doesn't bode well for future returns from property.
Global real estate can deliver competitive returns despite inflation and rising rates provided the property comes with attractive supply and demand trends, strong balance sheets and quality management teams.
The costs of owning an apartment for short-term rental consume most of the income, leaving uninformed investors blind to actual returns until the statements roll in. The practice of marketing gross yields is misleading.
Stamp duty on buying a home is a major cost for most people, often delaying purchase. While replacing it with a land tax seems attractive, the reform picks favourites and not everyone will welcome the changes.
LICs are continuing to struggle with large discounts and frustrated investors are wondering whether it’s worth holding onto them. This explains why the next 6-12 months will be make or break for many LICs.
Younger Australians think they’ll need $100k a year in retirement - nearly double what current retirees spend. Expectations are rising fast, but are they realistic or just another case of lifestyle inflation?
This week, I got the news that my mother has dementia. It came shortly after my father received the same diagnosis. This is a meditation on getting old and my regrets in not getting my parents’ affairs in order sooner.
Retirement can be daunting for Australians facing financial uncertainty. Understand your goals, longevity challenges, inflation impacts, market risks, and components of retirement income with these crucial charts.
Five mega trends point to risks of a more inflation prone and lower growth environment. This, along with rich market valuations, should constrain medium term superannuation returns to around 5% per annum.