Had a great time today at a site visit with Mr Pan at his development in Fengxian, 35km south of Shanghai. 108,000sqm mixed use site. Also noted the new metro line is already complete ahead of a lot of the surrounding development, quite the opposite to Australian infrastructure.

Shared some yarns on the Aus economy, demographics and property markets in Shanghai, with 50 attendees from various parts of China. Key takeaway for me is an appreciation of their long term planning and vision, rather than focusing on short term movements. Really refreshing!

Photos of the views from ANZ’s offices in Queen St, Melbourne and Beijing. Note the difference in the number of cranes!

Thought this chart in the RBA's Michele Bullock's speech yesterday was key: REIA data show the rental vacancy rate is now higher in Sydney than in Perth! While Melbourne is around historically low levels

The June quarter ANZ-Property Council survey showed some improvement in the outlook for credit availability. Early days, but better access to finance will be an important part of the eventual recovery in the housing market

It's worth keeping in mind that easing housing prices aren't the end of the world, and actually benefit a number of people. Deposit sizes are still a pretty big hurdle though. You can read the new ANZ-CoreLogic Housing Affordability Report here bit.ly/ANZ-CR-Housing

Even though auctions are only a small share of total housing sales, the improvement in auction results is starting to suggest some stabilisation in the broader market

ANZ's Property team recently sent a delegation to China, to help us understand customers in that region, how we can support them, and what we can do to help Australian businesses grow internationally. I've posted a few thoughts here... linkedin.com/pulse/insights…

Thanks for the invite. It's always nice to find a few people that enjoy my charts!

Really sensible commentary on Aus housing by Richard Yetsenga 叶森 🇦🇺 🇭🇰 🇹🇭 🇳🇱 and Felicity Emmett. Plenty of excitement lately with auction results and daily price movements improving. But weak income growth and stretched affordability are still issues. afr.com/real-estate/re…

Victoria's population growth continued to slow over the December quarter, but is still very strong. The population grew by 140,000 people through 2018, which requires a whole lot of investment in infrastructure/housing/amenities.

Really interesting read. First I've learnt about how female dominated jobs were awarded lower wages because women “have to find their own food, shelter, and clothing; not food, shelter and clothing of a family”. Seems we've come a long way since then but still further to go.

Interesting how quickly sentiment in housing has improved after one rate cut - in previous cycles it's taken 6-12 months after the first cut for prices to stop falling. Combination of election result and APRA's proposed serviceability changes clearly having an impact too.

Another sign of a better outlook for housing – this has been a good leading indicator of where building approvals are likely to go. Having said that, it’s suggesting finance availability will stabilise over the next 12 months, not rebound to where it was a few years ago.

Confirmation in APRA's letter that the 2.5% buffer will be applied on the actual loan rate (excl honeymoon rates), not the headline standard variable rate. With plenty of rates now into the low 3's, serviceability calculations could come around 6% - a pretty material difference

Victoria bucking the trend of weak housing construction data, with the number of units currently being built in the state actually rising to a new record level (50,600). But won't last much longer as building approvals remain soft...

What a win! NZ on track for a world cup double in 2019!

There have been a number of comments and articles saying affordability for first home buyers is the best in xx years. But affordability and mortgage serviceability are different things. If the price of petrol falls, it doesn't make a Ferrari more affordable.

Some good data in the ABS environmental accounts. Would be cool if it was released more frequently and more timely (already 2 years old). Our energy usage per person hasn't moved in the last decade - as well as changing our energy mix this would be a pretty good starting point

Always getting asked where people/businesses can invest for a half decent return these days. I don't know the best answer to that, but I do know that lower interest rates usually means commercial property yields compress and values rise.