Digital Finance Analytics (DFA) Blog

As I have been highlighting, lending for mortgages has been growing way faster than inflation, including for investor borrowers, and this is first lifting prices because the growth of credit is one of the stronger levers of home price growth, along side higher migration, but also put more households in high-debt to income scenarios, while … Continue reading "Banks’ Home Lending Mobbed By A Wet Lettuce (Again)!"

This is my edit of our monthly housing and economic update recorded in conjunction with Nuggets News. In this months edition, I explore the latest developments in AI, the crypto ructions, the Australian housing market and the recent economic data which raises some important questions as we barrel into then end of 2025. http://www.martinnorth.com/ Details … Continue reading "The Economic Chickens Are Coming Home To Roost!"

This is a edit of a live show where we took a deep to dive into the market psychology which is driving markets, property and gold, with Investment Manager Tony Locantro, and asked whether there is more sentiment than logic at play, as financial markets have dropped recently, though Australian property is on the up, … Continue reading "DFA Live Q&A HD Replay: Market Psychology Ups And Downs: With Tony Locantro"

Could it be that the momentum in the property market is taking an early bath, as we slide into summer? Well, certainly according to the AFR, the diminishing prospects of an interest rate cut any time soon have dampened buyers’ spirits and caused the auction clearance rate to slip below 70 per cent as the … Continue reading "Property Markets Slide Into Summer?"

This is my weekly market update, where we start in the US, cross to Europe and Asia and end in Australia, covering commodities and crypto along the way. Just like days one and two of the first ashes test in Perth, where wickets fell and innings collapsed fast, the financial markets this week experienced a … Continue reading "A Wild Ride To Nowhere As Markets Bite Back!"

Strip back the political spin, and its clear Australia faces a weak economy ahead, based on a rising structural deficit, and falling productivity. The Titanic and Icebergs springs to mind, as an unsinkable ship sank, and strong migration, Government support for households, and a growing public sector will not be enough to turn the ship … Continue reading "Australia’s Titanic Moment Approaches, As Spin Overrides Reality!"

This is an edit of a special live Q&A show, featuring Robbie Barwick, National Chairman, National Research Director and 2025 Senate Candidate for Victoria for the Australian Citizens Party. https://citizensparty.org.au/ Robbie recently returned from a study tour across China, and in this show you can question him about what he observed during the trip. This … Continue reading "DFA Live Q&A HD Replay: A Bull In A China Shop: Ask Robbie Barwick Live!"

Australia’s annual wage growth remained elevated last quarter, underscoring a tight labor market and persistently weak productivity and suggesting inflationary pressures may take time to cool in a challenge for policy makers. For the Reserve Bank of Australia, it means an interest rate cut in the near term remains unlikely. In addition wages growth is … Continue reading "The Inconvenient Truth About The Wages Price Index “Good News”"

This is an edit of a live stream where we dived into the economic maelstrom which is Australia, with Chief Economist Leith van Onselen, co-founder of Macrobusiness, and at Nucleus Wealth. We seem to be hit by an series of bad policies, which are degrading the outcomes for many households, yet Canberra seems stuck in … Continue reading "DFA Live Q&A HD Replay: Time To Stop The Economic Shadow Boxing: With Leith van Onselen"

From underquoting to AML, and from asbestos contamination to energy policy, we cover it all on this weeks rant with our property insider Edwin Almeida. It seems the economics of real estate agents are changing, and creating a challenging environment, as we head into the summer slow down. Yet another reason why some are being … Continue reading "Its Edwin’s Monday Evening Property Rant!"

Now as the AFR reported fines for underquoting in NSW will be increased by five times as the state government cracks down on real estate agents’ use of misleading price guides in a hot market where buyers are already scrambling to secure a home. Under tough new rules proposed for the state, agents will have … Continue reading "Gazumping and Underquoting City…"

This is our weekly market update, where we start in the US, cross to Europe and Asia and end in Australia, covering commodities and crypto along the way. We got another major dose of uncertainty this week, with doubts about FED rate cuts, Trumps tariff U turns reacting to US affordability issues, rising doubts about … Continue reading "The Bulls Are Getting Airsick, As Reality Bites!"

In this week’s Friday evening chat, journalist Tarric Brooker and I dive into the contentious issues surrounding housing costs in Australia. The latest data tells a sorry story for ordinary Australians, while the political class seem to be driving in a different direction. Tarric’s slides were extra insightful today, and you can see them here: … Continue reading "Australia’s Housing Costs Go Ballistic: With Tarric Brooker"

One of the worst decisions the ABS made was to reduce the reporting of new lending trends from monthly to quarterly, delaying of course any reactions from regulators, or commentary from analysts. And today’s quarterly release relating to the September confirms what we had suspected, namely that the number of investment loans in the September … Continue reading "Investor Loans Go Boom!"

Today we dive into the latest analysis from our Household Surveys with a focus on household cash flows, and where financial pressure, as measured by rental and mortgage stress is most extreme, across post code. Whilst some are benefitting from the “wealth effect”, many are being left stranded. Details of our one to one service … Continue reading "DFA Live Q&A HD Replay: Can Households Balance Their Books? – Insights Into Family Finances …"

Another week, more stupidity across property, as Edwin and I look at the latest news and statistics. We cover the question of mortgage fraud, poor quality construction, and why Edwin believes the Real Estate industry is in for a shock, as reports of underquoting, and slowing sales appear. If you are buying your home in … Continue reading "Its Edwin’s Monday Evening Property Rant!"

Today we examine the difference between the scientific “deductive” method we use in our surveys to examine households and their finances in our surveys and the “induction” method economists tend to use. We walk through results from our latest analysis, ahead of the upcoming live show on Tuesday. Link for that show is here: https://youtu.be/3eDnmurg_G0 … Continue reading "Can Households Balance Their Books? – Insights Into Family Finances …"

This is our weekly market update, where we start in the US, cross to Europe and Asia and end in Australia covering commodities and crypto along the way. Though weirdly, these shows tend to get less views than many of my other productions, for me they are the most important because we dive into what … Continue reading "Rising Global Volatility Drives Markets Lower On Tech Valuation Concerns"

The latest home price data to the end of October revealed further median price rises across the board. Momentum has been building in the rate of housing value growth since the first rate cut in February, pushing the annual pace of growth to 6.1% nationally. The step up in growth rates also coincides with the … Continue reading "Have We Reached Peak Housing Stupidity Yet?"

Hard to believe only now is the main stream media catching up with the real estate agents practice of underquoting, something which Edwin and I have been highlighting for months now, and which is rampant especially in the Sydney market. Underquoting is the illegal practice of setting property price guides well below what the seller … Continue reading "Underquoting Rules…."

This is an edit of a live show as we dive into the latest financial markets action with Damien Klassen, Head of Investments at Walk The World Funds and Nucleus Wealth. Given the US data deficits, the massive AI investments and rising markets, how can investors make sense of the considerable uncertainty, especially given safe … Continue reading "DFA Live Q&A HD Replay: Investing Now: Navigating Peak Uncertainty With Damien Klassen"

Well, well, the Australian Treasury has a tiger by the tail now, because their exposure draft of the proposals relating to the use of cash appears to have misfired completely. To recap I made a show the other day titled The Empire Strikes Back On The Future Use Of Cash! Despite all the hype the … Continue reading "The Cash Con Objection Last Chance Saloon …"

This is our weekly market update, where we start in the US, cross to Europe and Asia and end in Australia, covering commodity and Crypto along the way. Things are, well complicated, following a busy week of US corporate results, with investors concerned about the strength of the artificial intelligence trade and about how aggressively … Continue reading "Fooled: Markets Claw Through Self-Deception To Uncertain Highs!"

In the latest chat with journalist Tarric Brooker, we dive into the migration question, in the light of the latest inflation and employment data and look at recent results from Canada, where migration has been dialled back as a counter factual. We also consider the latest smoke and mirrors on housing, and how politics is … Continue reading "Stagflation: Trick Or Treat? With Tarric Brooker…"

This is an edit of a recent show I recorded with Adam Stokes on his channel, where we did a deep dive into international trade, Albo’s recent US trip and the questions surrounding AUKUS, Rare Earths and Australian Superannuation. We got pretty philosophical!

Australia’s core inflation accelerated beyond expectations last quarter, complicating the Reserve Bank’s path to further policy easing and prompting money markets to slash bets on a near-term interest-rate cut. The latest data is way off the RBA’s August forecast, from 0.6% for the trimmed mean to 1%, and clearly heading in the wrong direction. Heads … Continue reading "SURPRISE! Time To Forget About More Rate Cuts As CPI Jumps?"

Today we dive into the thorny question of First Time Buyers and the recent attempts by Government to stoke the market. With the help of Founder and Principal of Good Deeds Property Buyers Veronica Morgan, we pull apart the current market and consider issues raised from viewer questions. Veronica Morgan is the Founder and Principal … Continue reading "DFA Live Q&A Replay: Avoiding Traps For First Time Buyers: With Veronica Morgan"

This week Edwin and I delve into scams, price movements along transport hubs, and explain why people are still wanting to get out of Melbourne, even as rental property supply is dwindling further in Sydney. Meantime the Real Estate industry is spruiking to high heaven, matched only by the massive spread of reports in the … Continue reading "Its Edwin’s Monday Evening Property Rant!"

One of the critical aspects of our freedoms in Australia is to be able to hold our elected representatives and the machinery of Government and its associated agencies to account. We are facing another battle as Australia’s Freedom of Information (FOI) legislation is on the brink of significant reform through the Freedom of Information Amendment … Continue reading "Turning Freedom Down Another Notch!"

Well, October is living up to its status as the most volatile month of the year as markets reach new highs, despite signs cockroaches are hiding in the woodwork from rising private credit risks, liquidity concerns, and rising delinquencies especially in US credit cards. The Global MSCI Index reach another high, up 1.78% across the … Continue reading "The Bulls Roar Some More; Despite The Cockroaches Lurking…."

I am joined by Edwin Almeida, our property insider as I walk through a 1:1 session on a really interesting and fast changing suburb. http://www.martinnorth.com/ Details of our one to one service are here: https://digitalfinanceanalytics.com/blog/dfa-one-to-one/ Go to the Walk The World Universe at https://walktheworld.com.au/ Find more at https://digitalfinanceanalytics.com/blog/ where you can subscribe to our research … Continue reading "What’s Happening In Ashfield 2131? With Edwin Almeida"