Thursday, March 13, 2008

NUMBER CRUNCH

How will all this affect you?
Your rent
New tenancy agreements will be more expensive
Ongoing tenancy agreements are restricted under law regarding often they can increase and by how much
Your mortgage
National cash interest rates at 7.25%, the highest since December 1994
Victorian house prices remaining the same or increasing (depending on location)
A tough time to enter the property market
Job opportunities
Domestic consumer services roles may decrease e.g. hospitality, retails
Exportable skills may be under greater demand e.g. niche manufacturing, financial services
Unions and employees campaign for pay increases to meet increased cost of living
Traveling
Australian $0.90 (and over) = American $1.00
Great time to go overseas!
Cost of living
Petrol prices continue to rise, $1.50 to $3.00 a liter in the next 12 months
Basic goods will increase as transport and other costs increase
Stock Market
Funds move away from America and into emerging markets or the more ‘secure’ minerals oil and gold