Episode Details

As we move through 2021, we're still getting regular reminders that even though life is more normal, the effects of Coronavirus will be with us for a long time.

While some people are still looking back in the rear vision mirror to see what lessons we can learn to give us some guidance for the year ahead, today I'll be looking forward into the future as I chat with leading demographer Simon Kuesetenmacher about what he calls the Big Shift – some major demographic changes that you should be aware of if you're interested in the property or if you're in business

But first, let me give you a couple of quick lessons from 2020 to help you take better advantage of our property markets.

1. Timing the market is hard.

Anyone who tried to time the top or the bottom of our property market over the decades I've been investing has usually missed out, so I would suggest spending your efforts finding the best asset you can rather than trying to time the market.

2. Don't try and fight the RBA or our government.If you think about it, it's a government job to look after its constituents and protect them – not just by providing police and hospitals and the judicial system; but also protecting their jobs and the value of their biggest asset - their home.
3. Economic depressions can be avoided.

Our regulators have learned a lot over the last couple of decades and 2020 proved it - a rapid, large and well-targeted economic policy response can protect an economy from a significant shock and enable it to rebound quickly when the threat abates.

4. Be careful who you listen to and turn down the noise.

Last year investors were bombarded with information and opinions around what the coronavirus would mean to our economy and our property markets but much of this was just noise.

Now that I have shared some of my lessons with you we are going to hear what Simon Kuestenmacher has to say, and even though we have discussed some of these concepts in previous podcasts, I'm sure you'll get a lot out of my chat with him as he introduces some new concepts we haven't discussed before that I think will help give you some clarity on what's ahead.

And as always, I will share my mindset message with you at the end of our show.

There's a big shift ahead for our property markets

If you're like many Australians you're probably wondering what's going to happen to life beyond coronavirus.

What's going to change in the way we live, work, and organize our cities?

The simple answer is... quite a lot!

And if you're a property investor, or a business owner you must understand how Australian cities are reshaping to stay ahead of the game.

That's what I going to chat about today with Simon Kuestenmacher, one of Australia's leading demographers as I ask him for some insights into what his research suggests is ahead.

Simon is Director of Research at The Demographics Group, a columnist with The Australian, and a regular guest on this who is globally recognized as a rising star in the field of data management and insight and a regular guest here on my podcast.

Just to put some context to our chat…

It's easy to forget that one year ago we have a government dedicated to balancing the budget and bringing in a surplus. Our property markets were rebounding, and business owners would looking forward to a great year ahead.

Then look what happened in 2020 - we experienced a pandemic, a lockdown and a recession, and then a rebound.

Fortunately, we controlled the health issues better than almost every other country in the world, and it seems that our government has minimized the impact of the coronavirus cocoon induced recession.

But the dynamics of our society have changed considerably.

So, what next?

Global context

• What's happening in the world economy?
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