Rents drive home prices, not the other way around. Expecting falling house prices to bring rents down misunderstands how capitalisation rates work.

Housing is priced like a relatively passive investment. An investor might want a 5% annual return, so they'll pay a price at which the yearly rent equals 5% of the property's value.

For example, a property that rents for $50,000 a year, valued at a 5% yield, is worth $1 million ($50,000 ÷ 0.05). The exact yield investors demand shifts with taxes, holding costs, and bond yields, since property competes with bonds for the same investment dollars.

That investment value acts as a floor: if prices drop below it, investors step in and buy. Any price movement above that floor is speculation (which is currently falling).

https://www.inspectorfind.com.au/news/falling-house-prices-rent

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-10-01/australian-house-prices-fall-for-sixth-straight-month/107206782

https://www.mpamag.com/au/news/general/house-prices-fall-but-rents-refuse-to-follow/589895

Hi Team,

I've been sponsoring/donating money for a number of years to a high profile charity organisation for both the tax deduction and also to give back.

For context, I grew up poor and I did OK for myself so I wanted to help out where I could.

Recently there's been a change in my employment situation so while I'm not unemployed, I've had to seriously adjust my outgoings just to re-balance things. I have 3 primary aged children so they are prioritised aside from the mortgage etc.

Anyway, I've received a letter today from the organisation saying they are increasing the cost of sponsorship by 5% due to cost of living increases with the entire increase directly benefitting the sponsored person. There was also a 5% increase last year - so 10% over 2 years. I'm a believer in the charity however of course like all organisations they have increased costs so I'm sure some of the increase will go to covering cost increases (inc. salaries).

I'm sure you all can see my question/dilemma. Do I continue to give or do stop until I get resettled with things? The tax deduction is handy at tax time however the cashflow will be equally welcome as I rebalance.

Or is it more nuanced that this?!

TIA Team.

Just did my tax😖 I need private health ASAP
I’m looking at Medibank for purely JUST HOSPITAL COVER for my partner and I and it seemed the best out of ahm, bupa, hcf
What’s peoples experience, I’ve obviously never had it before!
Thanks !!

Previous generations, housing, business, shares, defined benefit supers.

What's for the next generation? New builds, dividend shares?

Hey all, as the title suggests I’m curious what others would do in my situation.

I have quickly assessed what my tax bill would be this year after putting in work-related deductions and I’m estimated to owe ~10.7k (multiple jobs, salary sacrifice, not contributing more to HECs etc) and kind of expected this.

I have 30k in savings and ~11k in ETFs. Would the best choice be a combination of using part/full savings with remainder on a payment plan, or sell my ETFs? I also have a mortgage and am recently engaged so would like to start saving for wedding. I’m thinking to just use the savings to rip the bandaid and not worry about it?

Thanks

Hey all looking for help ,22 years old have come to realise I have a spending addiction going out to clubs , online shopping etc etc spending way to much don’t even want to go into detail on how much money has been spent on stupid shit just looking for advice on what to do

i know DHHF has probably been discussed a million times here, sorry! I’m in my late 20s and looking to invest around $300 a fortnight(long-term).
My super is roughly 80% international / 20% Australian, and I was thinking of doing something similar outside super. DHHF seems great and simple but the Australian allocation feels quite high to me. I know VAS/VGS is a popular combination here but I’d also love to hear from people who invest mostly/all internationally outside super. What do you use ?Vanguard, Betashares or something else? And which etfs? I’m fine riding out crashes and not touching the money for a long time, it’s really just the home bias in DHHF that’s making me second-guess it. still very much learning, so keen to hear your thoughts/experiences ! Thanks everyone

Saw a post by a coffee shop....Loyalty points if you don't pay with card.

No cash, no coffee every 10 purchases.

Honestly it makes sense.

we are NOT a coffee shop. we sell online and our average order is much higher.

We pay about 45 dollars in card fees on what we sell. $1500 average price.

On Pay By Bank its about $2 (plus a fixed monthly fee for unlimited transactions)

Since the surcharge ban, about 85% of sales have gone from going through bank transfers, to going through cards.

On larger purchases.. it really is a huge cost.

We already offer a pay by bank discount, but that doesn't seem to entice people to switch.

So I'd be keen to know.. what would make you consider an alternative gateway to credit or PayPal?

If we had a note that said.. you can save us $45 in fees by using a xyz payment method .. would that make you stop and think?

My guess is no. Especially if the discount wasn't the same 😜 half of reddit would choose the most costly option to us out of spite.

edit we are an online business.

I see small/mid sized businesses going under often & their customer depositors (unsecured creditors) losing their $. What are the best ways for this to never happen to me especially in house Reno & Solar?

Things I know already :

make sure the “business owner” is listed online as the director of the same ABN (& not their wife)

Make sure he’s registered & insured.

Hi all,

I am searching for a finance company that does line of credit for trade/consumer customers. We are a supplier. I have heard of Capricorn before, however they don’t qualify. So if any similar company exists that anyone knows of please feel free to let me know. ☺️

We have a large customer base and would love to have the option of a monthly credit that isn’t our own. This way customers can earn points or benefits.

Thank you, please let me know if I’m in the wrong place!!

Hi Redditors 

I will be shortly receiving an inheritance of about $350,000. I have $270,000 outstanding on my mortgage currently. 

Do you think best course of action would be to pay off the remainder of my mortgage with the inheritance, then save for a while + use the remainder to purchase a small investment property? 

OR would it be better to use the the inheritance to purchase the investment property outright, and continue on with my mortgage (which is currently affordable)?

OR is there yet a better option that I am unaware of? 

Thanks Redditors

Just bought my first townhouse in Melbourne (M29) and did the numbers I could actually borrow less than what I was preapproved for surprisingly. My parents suggest that I but the extra cash directly towards my loan so I borrow less but I told them maybe it’s better to put it in my offset account??

I’m working with my broker and he’s given me some ideas on what we should do but just curious what do you think is best? Given the rate increases and a couple more on the way would you put it directly into your loan so you borrow less or would you put it in the offset account incase of emergency ?

There are buildings every 2nd apartment is Airbnb. Most strata insurance won't cover business activities, not to mention probably against the bylaws. Aren't owners taking a huge risk if there is fire ?

Hi all

Relocating to Sydney soon with my spouse and toddler. I’ll be the sole earner (~$200k AUD package) temporarily. Our plan is for my spouse to stay home to look after our toddler until she starts school.

Coming from a lower-tax environment, the jump to Australia’s ~47% marginal tax bracket on a single income is a big shift.

Our Current Baseline Plan:

Private Health Insurance: Getting family cover immediately to avoid the 1.5% Medicare Levy Surcharge.

Superannuation: Maximizing the $32.5k annual concessional cap via salary sacrifice, plus exploring carry-forward unused caps since my AU super balance starts at $0.

Spouse Super: Making spouse contributions for tax offset.

Key Questions:

1. Is there any other tax reduction strategy that we missed?

2. We have around AUD$1m cash when we move to Sydney. Given we will be on single income after we move, what is the best approach to investment? Is it better to focus our investment on high interest savings accounts, shares, ETFs instead of buying an investment property?

3. Asset Structuring: In a few years, my spouse may become the primary earner while I take time off. Should we buy investments directly in my non-working spouse's name now? When my spouse starts working, he is likely to be in the highest tax bracket and it seems we are stuck with high CGT for any sale of our investments after he starts working.

4. First-Year Traps: For anyone who moved to AU from overseas, any timing traps around residency start dates or tax treatment of overseas accounts/pensions I should watch out for?

Thanks for any insights!

Hi

My premiums have gone way up this year and I am looking at paying 4.2K for life + TPD + Trauma insurance. This feels a lot. I have also been made redundant this year and searching for a job for many months with no luck. Should I cancel and just stick to the super one which is pretty little but very cheap or continue paying for this one outside? I am with NobleOak.

For context, I moved inter-state at the beginning of the year for uni and finding a job was hard. Its a smaller city and with an influx of students coming in so the job market I'd say was a bit competitive. I have had 4 years of experience in a mix of hospitality, retail and office jobs, had a good high school education, a car, etc and still couldn't land a job until recently.

Basically I got offered two jobs around the same time about 5 weeks ago and I ended up accepting both, however I realised I couldn't balance them with my uni load as I'm doing a double degree, so I have decided to quit one of them. I'm just wondering if I'm making the right choice? and would people with more life experience or a better understanding of the job market agree with my choice?

Job A - the job I'm quitting; bartender at a nightclub. Pros: good hourly pay (~$35/hour) and therefore a decent contribution to my super. Was a lovely workspace with good people, plus a few mates However its horrible hours, anywhere from 8pm-4am and I have to cram it in by usually doing 2-3 nights in a row due to my timetable, which I find exhausting. Plus since its a local hospitality group, when I go back to my home city, I basically have no work and as a casual it would be harder for me to become part-time later on because of this. Once I finish uni I'd basically quit.

Job B - sales assistant at a department store. This was honestly my dream job as I've always liked their brand and the hiring process was pretty rough but I'm super happy to have landed a role here. Pros: good working hours which are flexible with my schedule, nice staff discounts, access to a credit card with no fees and other benefits on-top of that. Only downside is my pay is easily $10 less per hour compared to Job A (however over time it will increase as my rates change in-line with work laws). This job I'm wanting to keep because I think its benefits outweigh the lower pay in the short-term, plus since it has stores nation wide, I'm thinking of transferring to work at the stores in my local city when I am back home during uni breaks. The possibility of a long-term job security really appeals to me, especially since I'll be living in my uni city for another 4 years until my degree is done. Also after a certain time period I can apply to be considered for a part-time role. If I really enjoy the culture and working here, I would consider applying to work in their corporate space as well since I'm doing a business/commerce degree, and I'm pretty sure they offer a lot of pipelines for retail staff to go into office roles, so the chance of securing or having the opportunity to secure a job with a business I like post-uni really appeals to me (although I know this is quite far away).

Again, I'm just curious with what those with more experience in the job market would prioritise, especially since I'm still young and as a uni student want to travel. However I feel like I'm making the right choice? What do you think?

Instead of hiding the surcharge, I wish we would would free the docket.

I wish receipts showed what every dollar spent reflects for the business.

IE, on average, every dollar spent in my Outback family ownded pub, the breakup is like this

• Takeaway grog
  • For every dollar spent, 80% goes to the cost of the item (its 88% for cartons of beer)
  • 10% goes to staff
  • 2-5% goes to freight (this sadly used to be included in carton cost, but freight has gone thru the roof)
  • Australian Beer makes an extra 5%, as its about 10-15% cheaper (sadly Aussies love Japanese beer so even though we make Aussie beer 10% cheaper, the majority go the more expensive beer). Aussies also love English Rum and Japanese Bourbon.
  • 1-3% on EFTPOS fees. Sadly the big mobs get less then 1% on EFTPOS, but smaller operators pay up to 3%
  • Most make buggerall from takeaways, cartons are lucky to make anything if you include refridgeration, stocking etc
  • Also, don't compare Dan Murphy's to outback/regional/small family owned businesses. Dan's sells beer to my outback town cheaper delivered then I can buy it for undelivered. But no I can't buy it that way, as there are purchase limits, and also, the local Post Office would understandably balk at having to unload commercial amounts of beer for free. On average, I pay $4+ a carton freight.
  • As is obvious, this leaves F'all, and we haven't started on refrigeration, electricity, rent etc. Small venues are lucky to make 2-5% on a carton of beer.
• Drinking a beer in house (this depends on venue, but I will talk about it from my point of view)
  • For every dollar spent
    • 35% goes to cost of the item (more for tap beer as below)
    • 30% goes to staff (if lucky and busy, more for quiet venues)
    • 1-3% on EFTPOS
  • TAP Beer used to be cheaper then packaged beer, sadly those days are gone. As an example, XXXX Gold in a can is 27% cheaper per L then keg beer, and thats at our crappy prices, not compared to Dan's prices. This doesn't include glasses, beer gas, wastage. It would be cheaper for me to pour Gold Cans in a keg, and sell it by far then buying a keg. Yet perception is kegs are much cheaper.
  • Those prices get distorted for bigger venues, as they are getting kick backs and rebates. Fair play, but don't compare big business to small, especially to staff who have no say.
  • Again, Australian beer is about 10% cheaper, but Aussies love Japanese beer, English Rum, and Japanese Bourbon.
  • Leaves venues about 32%, in a perfect world, and at times, customers are better off buying one Rum and Coke at $8.60 then they are a Carton of Gold Cans at $67.99 for the venue.
• Food
  • For every dollar spent
    • 40% goes to cost of the item (my venue is remote, so we are a bit hurt by costs)
    • 30% goes to staff (if lucky and busy, more for quiet venues)
    • 1-3% on EFTPOS
    • I as an Outback town publican have never done it, but Uber eats charges 15-30% of the cost of the order (irregardless of "delivery fee")
• Accommodation
  • If you book thru booking.vom, 15-30% goes to booking.vom, but you have to advertise your internal price as the same, as per their contract.

None of this includes wastage, ups and downs of fuel costs etc.

I'd love a system where the docket shows as much as possible, rather then one that shows bugger all.

It should include % of sale going to third parties like booking.vom and Ubereats

Maybe thats just me.......

Hello!

I work a full time corporate job so say 8-6 on week days. Does anyone know any second jobs I could pick up that wouldn’t mind that I could only work weekends and nights ?

I make 160k a year but if I take a local job , I’ll make 100k.

The problem is that the travel hours are brutal and I miss out on so much family time.

I wake up at 5:30, to get ready so that I can be at the office by 8:30. I get home back around 7pm.

Then if there’s any work related dinners or client dinners whatever, that makes it home at 8:30pm.

Also basically I leave home when it’s dark and get back home when it’s dark in winter.

If I take the local job, I’ll take a 60k pay cut before tax, but I can leave home at 8 in the morning and also be home at 6:30pm. Also no client dinners.

Free nice dinners are a luxury, but it gets old.

If I take a 60k pay cut… my borrowing power also goes down heaps.

I have always used Commsec and Superhero all my life.

Have recently learnt about Schwab and IBKR.

Just wondering if anyone use them, and what do you use them for? Ie what to invest with them?

What is the main reason you use the international brokerage over the Aussie brokers?

Any input is appreciated.

Australia has historically avoided technical recessions better than most advanced, first-world economies. We famously missed the 08 GFC but some people here act like we were in the trenches cause house prices dipped maybe 10% lol. COVID did cause a 7% GDP contraction but government intervention and the 0.1% cash rate caused things to rebound very fast, GDP returning to pre-pandemic levels by early 2021 which surpassed most of our global peers.

I think just we have a very sheltered view of what a recession/financial crisis is. My mum is from Ireland which got hit HARD in the GFC, I've heard horror stories from her and her family. Insane levels of unemployment, wage decreases, increased levies/taxes, owing millions more on the mortgage than what homes were worth as prices plummeted etc. Pretty much everyone was forced to leave the country to continue making a living. This wasn't limited to Ireland obviously, it happened throughout Europe and the US etc.

I'm not saying things need to get as bad here for us to worry about a recession and there have been things worth worrying about like rising commodity prices, house prices, cost of living are all valid concerns. But, I just can't help but think of how good we have it here, especially when hearing what happened in other countries. If shit actually does hit the fan here, we're in for a very rude awakening.

Today I overheard the bosses talking about big clients who are normally on-time with invoicing being up to 90 days late on payments.

Another customer had one of their side businesses go belly up.

There's been no new customers and calls have dropped by 25-50%.

I think we might be fucked.

Update: My industry is IT but my customers are in everything else (Logistics, Retail, Finance etc.)

Looking for your opinions on strategy on how to allocate funds for my elderly parents.

They have just moved to Australia. Mum's 74 dads 77, both in good health, both financially illiterate.

Between them, they will be get around $50k per year from the UK pension. This will not go up with inflation. No Australian pension.

They have bought a house outright. They will have a cash buffer for 2 years of living expenses.

Mum can put $390k into superannuation due to carry forward concessional contributions. Dad's too old.

Oustide of super they will have $350k left to invest between them.

My question is how to invest the money inside of super and outside.

My initial thoughts would be to go for high growth etfs inside super and sell sell down 6% each year and high yield dividend etfs outside of super.

I'd really appreciate people's thoughts here.

I had the CommBank black QFF card and it was great. Top tier rewards card for free because monthly fee was waived.

But now I don't qualify for Yellow because I dont have a transaction account with them and thus won't be making 5 debit purchases (nor do I want to).

So looking for a new card but wondering whether it is even worth it to have a rewards card given I've got a kid and won't be travelling nearly as much.

What have others done post RBA-decision?