For many low and medium income Australians, the biggest issue in the upcoming Federal election is the cost of living. The quarterly CPI reading of5.1% headline/3.7% underlyingshowed that the cost of goods and services is rising faster than it has in a long time. Petrol prices, groceries, housing and education all saw significant moves higher in the last quarter. Whilst some of these increases may level off in the medium term, rental affordability is set to get much worse. The chart below fromSQM Researchshows the plummeting national vacancy rate for residential property.


Data from Domainhas Sydney and Melbourne above the average with Adelaide, Canberra, Hobart and Perth sitting well below 1.0%. Following the re-opening of international borders, foreign students and tourists have returned. There are widespread anecdotal reports of rental properties being withdrawn from the residential market to take advantage of higher…
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