You think things are rough here? Take a look around.
Every now and then, a journo will buck the party line and remind us that despite the focus on the downside of our current economic situation, we're actually doing pretty well, all things considered.
The next round of GDP numbers are due to be released this coming Wednesday, and are expected to show growth over the September quarter. This news is not unlike that crisp southerly coming in after a week of 40-plus temperatures and 100 per cent humidity.
HSBC chief economist, Paul Bloxham has a piece in today's The Australian reminding that while things are a bit tight in Oz right now, we're killing it compared to much of the rest of the developed world. We've just celebrated 28 years of uninterrupted economic growth, for a start. Our GDP volatility is the lowest of any OECD economy in the past quarter-century.
Paul argues however, that this could change if the Morrison government doesn't stop thinking politically and start thinking economically. He says the RBA can only do so much to keep our economy on-track; continued growth in a languishing global economic climate is going to come down to fiscal policy-makers.
...not that this is likely to stop people calling on the RBA to keep cutting - like this bloke, who reckons Dr Lowe should slash another .25 from the official cash rate when his mob meets tomorrow.
Extra, extra, getcha bricks and mortar
Herron Todd White released its National Property Clock for December over the weekend. If you've not seen this before, check it out; it shows which property markets are peaking and bottoming out, which are in decline and which are rising.
Key markets including Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane are recovering, while Adelaide, Perth and Darwin are still at the bottom of their cycles. And if you were hoping to buy in Dubbo, Canberra or the Sunshine Coast during the upswing, you're too late; they've peaked for now.
CoreLogic and Domain preliminary auction clearance figures for the weekend showed Sydney and Melbourne markets are continuing to crack on. This is despite talk that some agents are using dodgy pricing to artificially drive demand and push prices north.
CoreLogic says Sydney prices in particular are rising faster than they have in 30 years, and that Brisbane and Gold Coast prices are back at their April 2018 peak. According to REA Group, Sydney is the vanguard for a national price recovery, with an "extremely high" level of interest in property at the moment.
This followed news last week from listed residential builder, Fletcher last week, which used its latest results announcement to predict the new-build sector will bottom out this year and climb 35 per cent by 2022.
While we're surrounded by talk of how bad things are getting economy-wise, this sudden scramble back up the bricks and mortar ramparts proves the modern truism that in Australia, we believe owning property is our passport to personal financial safety.
To demonstrate, sole director of collapsed developer Ralan has jumped the shark for us. Proving some people never learn his lesson, he's telling creditors in the half-billion-dollar implosion of his company that the way out of trouble is to let him continue building more towers. A literal pyramid scheme?
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