Unconventional Economist

Leith van Onselen is Chief Economist at the MB Fund and MB Super. He is also Chief Economist and co-founder of MacroBusiness. Leith has previously worked at the Australian Treasury, Victorian Treasury and Goldman Sachs.

Australian housing FOMO turns into FOOP

For decades, as values continued to march ever higher, Australia’s housing market was in a state of FOMO (i.e., the “fear of missing out”).

Unlike Australia, New Zealand housing affordability continues to improve

Unlike Australia, New Zealand’s housing affordability continues to improve.

Construction boss: migrant tradies are not the solution

Australia’s immigration policy is worsening labour shortages in the construction sector.

Victoria: too many bureaucrats, too few front line staff

Victoria’s state budget is drowning in debt, has the lowest credit rating in the nation, and risks further downgrades.

Souring renewables investment outlook extends life of coal generators

Sydney’s house price correction hits new milestone

Sydney’s house price correction has worsened.

Weekend reading & MB media releases

House price correction moves to mid-sized capital cities

According to Cotality’s daily dwelling values index, home values have declined by 3.2% from their peak across the five major capital cities. So far, this decline has been driven by Sydney (-5.8%) and Melbourne (-5.6%), with smaller falls of 1% or less recorded across the mid-sized capitals.

Labor’s 5% deposit scheme ignored regulatory warnings

Housing Minister Clare O’Neil has defended the federal government’s 5% home deposit scheme amid renewed criticism from Coalition counterpart Andrew Bragg.

Energy reality bites in Victoria and NSW

According to the latest version of AEMO’s flagship report, the 2026 ISP released in June, over 5 GW of coal is scheduled to close in 2029: By 2035, Australia is scheduled to have lost around 15 GW of coal capacity, almost all from Victoria and NSW.

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