EP 021: Housing Affordability… Australian Dream Over?

Ahh, election weekend in Australia.

I’m still trying to decide if Labor won or The Liberals lost.
What’s clear is the country wants change and to move forward.

Something I did find interesting is how much more informed the average voter is this election VS the last major election.

The impacts of the last few years have certainly made Australians take voting and policy more seriously. (Which is a good thing)

But more on that next week…

In this episode:
○ How does housing affordability affect Australian business owners?
○ Green Metal mining – Mining boom 2.0
○ What to do if your business can’t support your wealth goals?
○ How do you evaluate assets against each other to find the best option?

If you prefer to listen to us discuss these topics, then check out the podcast on:  https://linktr.ee/fullstackbusinessowner

—————————

WHAT HAPPENED

Housing affordability is at all-time lows in Australia.
○ Not enough supply of new housing coming onto the market
○ Cost of building supplies keeps going up
○ The government has a vested interest in house prices staying up as it generates a lot of tax revenue 

All in all, there is pressure coming from all angles pushing house prices up.
In the past 2 years, the price of housing has far outpaced incomes.
This is a trend that I don’t see changing anytime soon…

Why is this important to Australian business owners?

One of the things that concerns me with housing affordability is that as people spend more of their income on housing, they typically spend less in the economy.

This means less spending in businesses, like yours and mine.
Which can really slow down the overall economy.

However, I see some upside and opportunities that come with this.
Something that I don’t see anyone really talking about.

As capital cities become less affordable, it will drive more people out of capital cities and into major regional areas. (which we are already seeing)

Many highly talented workers who are leaving the capital cities are going to be looking for new jobs in those regions or they will have the ability to work from home.

Plus they will be spending the money they make in those regional areas.

This also means many businesses that were not viable in some regional areas due to population size will start becoming viable.

Yep, hipster cafes will start popping up everywhere!

I really think we could see regional businesses and the businesses that support the region’s boom in the coming years.

If your business has the potential to serve those regions or hire those people looking for new opportunities it could be your unfair advantage in the coming years.

—————————

WHAT HAPPENED

Australian Mining boom 2.0 on the horizon with MASSIVE demand for “Green” resources

Australia is once again the lucky country.

Turns out we have HUGE deposits of all the resources needed to take the world green.

Yep… all the raw materials needed to build electric cars, solar panels and wind turbines.

Demand for these resources is set to 13X in the coming years.

I think we take for granted the amount of wealth created for Australia from mining.

Much of our country’s prosperity in the last 25 years has come from mining.

Fun fact…
Last financial year alone Australia did $300 Billion in mining exports.

This is set to go SUBSTANTIALLY higher with the push to go green

Why is this important to Australian business owners?
Building a business with this type of economic tailwind behind you is a huge push!

Nearly all businesses in Australia benefit from this economic backdrop.

But.. let’s take this a little further.
The world is making a big shift towards green and you have the option to ride this wave.

Think deeply about this.

It’s not just the businesses in mining that benefit from this its the:
○ businesses who support resources businesses
○ towns near the mines
○ executives who buy new cars or go on more holidays
○ businesses building green technology (batteries, solar panels, electric cars)

This green shift will grease the wheels of many industries.

—————————

COMMUNITY QUESTION

What would you do if your business is not capable of supporting your wealth goals?

In summary, you have to change!
That might mean changing your current business or starting a new one.

When I was 22 years old, I was a plumber making $100k a year.

The problem was that $100k a year was never going to support my family nor give me the time to spend with them.

I was terrified to change.
I had a good income in a secure job.

This build-up of pain eventually became so bad it was more painful to stay the same.
I quit my job and went all-in on business, with very little experience.

At the beginning of the change, it was a disaster.
I lost money and felt like a failure.

The number 1 thing that helped me though…
Finding people who had done the thing and just modelling them.

If your business can’t support your wealth goals, then find business owners in the same space who have achieved this and just start modelling.

Shortcut the pain of trial and error by learning from someone who has done it.

This is something I still do today!

—————————

COMMUNITY QUESTION

How do you evaluate assets against each other to find the best option?

First up this is not financial advice and only an opinion.
SEEK THE SERVICES OF PROFESSIONALS, as we do not know your personal situation.

Something that has changed me recently is how I think about evaluating assets against each other.

I used to be very return focused.
If I put $1,000 into “X” -vs- “Y”, what would the difference be?

And I think many people start with that type of thinking.
It’s purely about the capital return.

Today, I think of it more from a business point of view.

What opportunities are best for my “wealth business”

It’s kind of like this.

If you have a marketing agency and an opportunity comes up to buy another marketing agency.

It might be a great opportunity because you know how to run that business + have the team and resources to leverage into that deal.

However…
If an opportunity comes up to buy a logistics business… not so much.

Even if the logistics business is super-cheap, it is probably not the deal for you.

My point.
I’m playing to my strengths and you should too.

—————————

THOUGHTS

What are we pondering?

Charley

I’m currently in the stage of planning for a 2nd kid.
What came as a surprise was the real cost per month, per kid, when you dig into the details.

I had estimated it would be about $1,500 per month per kid.
(Housing, food, clothing, entertainment, care/education)

When I did the maths…It’s closer to $2,500 per kid. (WOW)

This is one of those times I am incredibly grateful to be a business owner and have the option to earn more!

Grant
After spending some nights out with his network Grant has some growing concerns for the economy.

Not in a “doom or gloom” kinda way.

More about him looking to build up some cash reserves to make the most of unique opportunities that might present themselves in the coming year.

—————————

UPCOMING

Next episode….

Be on the lookout for next week’s newsletter as I will be covering how business owners will win/lose from the recent election results.

I think you might be surprised by how much who is in government affects YOUR business.

DISCLAIMER:
All information we share is NOT financial or investment advice and is purely intended for entertainment and educational purposes only. Always seek professional advice before acting on any financial decision.