Today we met with the team from NAB Markets, including their Senior Economist David de Garis and Mark Todd, their Director of Debt Markets. Mark also hosts Your Money Your Call on Foxtel. We got some great insights into the current state of global markets and even into the Australian property market.

Here are some of their insights:

– Overseas buyers of residential property are about 16% of new and 11% of existing stock nationwide
– Foreigners are also buying our commercial property with enthusiasm, as the low dollar makes them
look good value
– Great quote from David about the Sydney property market (which looks mad compared to the Adelaide residential chart): ‘There is no cure for high prices like high prices themselves’
– Earnings in the US have declined, because of the effect of the low oil prices – however the non oil sector looked relatively OK.
– David feels that the problems affecting equity markets are not so much from China, but more problems in the US itself. The focus on China is, to some extent, commentators in the US not looking within but blaming an outside influence
– Mark pointed out that the Chinese are still learning how to use the levers in their new market economy. Until they learn how to keep the economy kicking along – there may be more volatility
– Apartment construction is strong in Sydney and Melbourne and is adding about 1% to GDP alone
– Domestic tourism is another strong area; Australia receives 90,000 Chinese tourists per month
– They both believe that governments should be investing more in infrastructure, that they are now excessively afraid of debt (when debt is cheap) and that ‘the PPP model will never really work’ – David.