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ABS: Monthly household spending indicator reveals 10 per cent more spending

ABS: Monthly household spending indicator reveals 10 per cent more spending

Household spending in June was up more than 10 per cent compared with the same time last year, as Australia struggles through skyrocketing cost of living.

The latest monthly spending figures, released on Tuesday by the Australian Bureau of Statistics, show household spending increased 10.2 per cent through the year, with a 15.9 per cent increase on services and a 5.0 per cent increase on goods.

Both discretionary and non-discretionary spending increased – not surprising given the rate of inflation is 6.1 per cent.

Discretionary spending rose by 10.8 per cent, driven by spending in recreation and cultural activities, while non-discretionary spending on essentials rose 9.8 per cent, due to the rising cost of transport.

The most significant area of ​​spending was on transport, up 22.7 per cent, driven by higher oil prices due to the ongoing war in Ukraine and the demand for air travel.

Spending at hospitality businesses like hotels, cafes and restaurants was up 17.1 per cent in what is viewed as a positive return to pre-pandemic levels.

There was also strong growth in spending on clothing and footwear – up 16.3 per cent; as well as a 15.5 per cent increase in recreation and culture.

Jacqui Vitas, from the Australia Bureau of Statistics, said June marked the 16th consecutive month of through-the-year increases in total household spending.

“This was off the back of consistent decreases in total household spending from March 2020 to February 2021, as responses to Covid-19 were experienced across the country,” she said.

“Spending categories most impacted from Covid-19 responses – transport, hotels, cafes and restaurants, and clothing and footwear – have now returned to pre-pandemic levels.”

Queensland and Victoria recorded the highest state-based increases in spending through the year, spending 12.4 per cent and 11.8 per cent respectively more.

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CEO Ross McEwan says home loans repayments are on track despite rising interest rates

CEO Ross McEwan says home loans repayments are on track despite rising interest rates

This appears to have spooked the market, with NAB shares falling 3 per cent on Tuesday morning; the stock is essentially flat year-to-date.

But the margin boost is coming, with Citi analyst Brendan Sproules tipping NAB’s NIM will lift from 1.62 per cent in May to 1.64 per cent by September, and then 1.76 per cent a year later.

But with the RBA only starting its tightening cycle in May, later than many of its global peers, investors will need to wait a little longer for this tailwind to really get going.

Of course, rising rates are a double-edged sword for banks, and NAB chief executive Ross McEwan has been vocal in urging borrowers worried about mortgage stress to come forward early and seek help, whether that’s an adjustment to their loan repayments, fixing or splitting their loan, tapping their redraw facility, or plain old hardship assistance.

But for now, NAB’s mortgage book looks to be in pretty good shape.

NAB’s total credit impairment charge for the quarter was just $11 million, less than a third of the charge it took in the March quarter.

Better still, loans 90 days or more past due and gross loans as a percentage of NAB’s lending book continue to decline. Just 0.7 per cent of NAB’s loans were in this “troubled” category at June 30, compared with 0.75 per cent at March 30, and 1.13 per cent at June 30, 2021.

Again, NAB’s June quarter numbers – and Commonwealth Bank’s full-year profits on Wednesday – come too early to reflect the full impact of the RBA’s rate rises, so there is no doubt that what mortgage stress we do see is still some months down the track .

But the fact the percentage of troubled loans in NAB’s book is still falling shows the banks – and households more broadly – ​​will start this tough period in a pretty good spot.

McEwan believes most of his customers can absorb higher rates, with about 70 per cent of home loan repayments ahead of schedule.

Of course, the glass-half-empty view is that there are 30 per cent of customers living mortgage payment to mortgage payment – ​​including a big chunk of borrowers set to shift from fixed rates to variable ones – in an environment where rates will end the year about 3 per cent higher than where they started it.

And, according to Barrenjoey analyst Jonathan Mott, it’s the 10 per cent of households – who account for something like $200 billion of home loans – that represent the real worry; the average customer might be fine, but it’s the tail that can hurt the banks.

But as McEwan points out, this slowdown won’t look like your parent’s three decades ago – historically low unemployment and historically high household savings should provide resilience this time around.

If consumer spending can moderate, as appears likely, and wage growth doesn’t get out of control, perhaps the soft landing that the RBA craves can be engineered.

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Australian social media company Linktree sacks 17 per cent of staff

Australian social media company Linktree sacks 17 per cent of staff

An Australian social media start-up that was recently valued at $1.78 billion is sacking 17 per cent of staff from its global operations.

The company, whose main offices in Australia are based in Sydney and Melbourne, said it has 25 million users and is one of the top 300 most popular websites globally with 1.2 billion monthly views.

Yet, his co-founder and chief executive Alex Zaccaria, revealed on LinkedIn that he was “heartbroken” to announce that staff would be axed.

The news came despite the company, which has been backed by billionaire Afterpay co-founder Nick Molnar, raising $US110 million ($A1578 million) in March.

It also announced a brand transformation in June and revealed plans for a whole suite of new tools and features set to be released over the coming months.

The company is believed to have around 300 employees, with the 17 per cent figure equating to around 50 staff that will be sacked, with roles impacted understood to cover talent acquisition, people and culture, design and marketing.

Mr Zaccaria said he had shared the “difficult news” with staff about the cuts, which were being made to “emerge stronger from the economic downturn”.

“Our people have built Linktree into what it is today: trusted by millions of people around the world. I’m heartbroken to say goodbye to some incredible teammates today, and want to do all I can to support them,” he said.

“On Friday, we will post a public, opt-in Airtable for those of our team impacted and ask you to please consider this group of incredibly talented and passionate people for roles you have open. I can assure you they will make huge contributions wherever they land.

“If you’d like to speak to me personally about any individual, my DM’s are open.”

The cuts come after the company introduced a $6000 reward annually to staff just six months ago, with the perk described as “mind-blowing” by employees at the time.

Linktree started off as a way for influencers to link to everything from their outfits, blog posts, podcast episodes and social media, but has evolved into a platform that enables brands, artists and businesses to monetize their content through social media.

Its high-profile users feature Selena Gomez and Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson as well as brands such as TikTok and Red Bull.

Mr Zaccaria also revealed that the company had made some “big bets” and hired in line with its ambitions, but economic conditions had changed in 2022 forcing the company to make the cuts.

“Conditions changed faster than expected and those assumptions I made were wrong,” he said. “I have many learnings to take into the next phase of building Linktree. That next phase involves narrowing our focus on our long-term strategy by reducing roles that are no longer aligned with our road map.”

In a further letter to Linktree staff, Mr Zaccaria said he would be hosting a weekly ‘Ask Me Anything’ session to staff for the next four weeks.

“Friday will be a company-wide mental health day at Linktree. For a company like ours, so focused on culture and camaraderie, this will be difficult news,” he said.

“I don’t expect anyone to be their normal selves. We will also be allocating you an additional mental health day that you can take at a time that suits you.

“The opportunity for Linktree is immense and I have no doubt we’ll achieve everything we intend to and more for our creators.

“The right path is rarely the easy path. Today’s change to our team is the hard way, but it puts us in a strong position to deliver on the opportunity we have in front of us.”

Staff that have been made redundant will receive an average of 11 weeks pay, mental health support for three months and laptops and work from home equipment will be gifted.

The company is still actively recruiting for roles on LinkedIn including product managers, integrated marketing managers and engineers, with 16 jobs currently advertised.

Tech sector bloodbath

Linktree’s staff are the latest casualties in the tech sector, which has seen a spate of companies firing staff as conditions get tougher.

Immutable, an Australian crypto company valued at $3.5 billion was facing a fierce backlash last week after sacking 17 per cent of its staff from its gaming division, while continuing to “hire aggressively” after raising $280 million in funding in March.

Australian healthcare start-up Eucalptys that provides treatments for obesity, acne and erectile dysfunction fired up to 20 per cent of staff after an investment firm pulled its funding at the last minute.

Debt collection start-up Indebted sacked 40 of its employees just before the end of the financial year, despite its valuation soaring to more than $200 million, with most of the redundancies made across sales and marketing.

Then there was Australian buy now, pay later provider Brighte, that offers money for home improvements and solar power, which let go of 15 per cent of its staff in June, with roles primarily based on corporate and new product development.

Another buy now, pay later provider with offices in Sydney called BizPay made 30 per cent of its redundant workforce blaming market conditions for the huge cut to staffing in May.

Earlier this year, a start-up focused on the solar sector called 5B Solar, which boasts backing from former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull, also sacked 25 per cent of its staff after completing a capital raise that would inject $30 million into the business

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The US is bidding to cap the price of Vladimir Putin and Russia’s oil

The US is bidding to cap the price of Vladimir Putin and Russia's oil

The core of her proposal is that an international price cap of between $US40 and $US60 a barrel – a level just above Russia’s break-even productions costs of between $US30 and $US40 a barrel – would be imposed on Russian oil shipments.

Those importers that could demonstrate that they had observed the cap would be able to get access to insurance coverage and financing.

The thesis underpinning the plan is that Russia would keep producing oil because it would rather receive some, albeit far lesser, revenue from oil sales than none. It would also face significant and lasting damage to its wells as other oil industry infrastructure if there were a prolonged shutdown of production.

For the buyers, the carrot would be very low oil prices. While China and India have taken advantage of existing sanctions on Russia to gorge on purchases of Russian oil at discounts of about $US30 a barrel to international prices, they could get even cheaper oil if they signed up to Yellen’s plan. The current oil price is about $US96 a barrel.

The US is relying on the self-interest of China and India and other buyers of Russia’s oil to outweigh any relationships with Russia. Russia and China, of course, signed a pact – a “friendship with no limits” – just ahead of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. China has been listening to Yellen but has made no commitments.

Russia has, predictably, threatened to simply cut off all its oil sales if the price cap is imposed. That would send the oil price soaring dramatically – it isn’t possible to replace 10 per cent of the world’s supply – and cause shortages and spikes in already unpalatable inflation rates in the major economies.

Yellen is relying on Vladimir Putin to act rationally in Russia’s economic self-interest, just as the plan really needs China and India and others to do the same.

It could also use myriad sanctions-busting techniques to try to circumvent or at least blunt the impact of the plan.

The West buys about 70 per cent of Russia’s oil and there is a big question mark on whether there is sufficient demand elsewhere to absorb that even if the logistical issues of getting it to prospective buyers could be resolved.

The US believes that Russia, while perhaps briefly carrying out its threat to halt production, will want to produce as much as it can even at prices modestly above its break-even to maintain at least some flows of revenue to fund a war in Ukraine than has so far been largely funded by oil sales that, even with the big discounts and reduced sales, have been hugely profitable at the current prices. The higher prices have more than offset the losses of volume.

If the American assessment were to be proven correct, the flow of Russian oil into the market at prices way below the current market could have a halo effect, helping to bring prices down generally and contributing to a lowering of global inflation rates.

US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has been touring the world trying to convince countries, insurers, banks and shipping companies that a price cap could work to crimp Russia's oil revenues.

US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has been touring the world trying to convince countries, insurers, banks and shipping companies that a price cap could work to crimp Russia’s oil revenues.Credit:Bloomberg

How OPEC might respond to the creation of a buyers’ cartel isn’t clear. Russia is a key OPEC affiliate and the producers’ cartel has been reluctant to co-operate with US efforts to increase oil production to bring prices down. It begrudgingly agreed to a meager 100,000 barrels a day increase – about 0.1 per cent of the current production – after Joe Biden’s recent visit to Saudi Arabia.

It isn’t going to be happy about the prospect of a significant fall in oil prices if the Yellen plan is implemented effectively, nor will it be keen to promote a buyers’ cartel that could subsequently be used to counter its influence over the oil market .

The price cap proposal is complex and it is unclear whether, even if they wanted to, the shipping and insurance companies could ensure compliance in practice.

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Much of the recent work being done on the plan, with input from the shipping, banking and insurance companies, has been on trying to simplify the compliance regime so that it is workable and the companies can identify which charges have been sold within the cap and which haven’t.

Time is running out for Yellen to lock the complex pieces that would support the price cap regime in place. If the EU sanctions go live without some compensatory measures the oil price will take off. Even if those measures are in place, Russia’s response could still cause prices to soar.

Yellen is relying on Vladimir Putin to act rationally in Russia’s economic self-interest, just as the plan really needs China and India and others to do the same.

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The RBA to trial digital currency

The RBA to trial digital currency

The Reserve Bank of Australia will trial a digital currency in a “ring-fenced” pilot program as part of a collaborative research project into how it could be used by consumers and businesses that is set to last about a year.

Australia’s central bank has previously declared its interest in digital currency, which could be a digital equivalent of the dollar and rival privately minted cryptocurrencies, but the research project announced by the bank on Tuesday with the Digital Finance Cooperative Research Center would focus on how such an asset could actually be used.

The RBA is collaborating on a research project into the use of a central bank digital currency.

The RBA is collaborating on a research project into the use of a central bank digital currency.Credit:Louie Douvis

The research center’s chief executive Andreas Furche, whose organization is a product of industry, university and government collaboration, said it had already been proven that a central bank digital currency was technically feasible. “The key research questions now are what economic benefits a CBDC (central bank digital currency) could enable, and how it could be designed to maximize those benefits,” Furche said.

In a media release, the Reserve Bank said previous research from central banks around the world had gone into questions such as how the distributed ledger technology that is a hallmark of cryptocurrencies could be used for an RBA-backed currency.

But Michele Bullock, the RBA’s deputy governor, said Tuesday’s project was the next step in its research. “We are looking forward to engaging with a wide range of industry participants to better understand the potential benefits a CBDC could bring to Australia,” Bullock said.

The project would involve a “ring-fenced environment” in which a pilot digital currency would be used that had a real claim on the Reserve Bank. Participants selected by the bank and research center will develop projects that demonstrate how the digital currency could be used to assist businesses and households within that framework. A report will be published at the end.

China has explored the use of a digital currency, with the use of the e-CNY being gradually expanded.

China has explored the use of a digital currency, with the use of the e-CNY being gradually expanded.Credit:AP

RBA Governor Philip Lowe has previously warned that a risk of a central bank digital currency is that it could cause bank runs if jittery consumers use it to withdraw wealth from commercial banks and park it with the RBA in a crisis.

Privately minted cryptocurrencies have fared poorly this year, with even some that are intended to be pegged stably to the US dollar being wiped out.

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National Australia Bank delivers $1.8b cash profit in third quarter

National Australia Bank delivers $1.8b cash profit in third quarter

Citigroup analyst Brendan Sproules said the result was disappointing given NAB’s rally since June, but the impact of the Reserve Bank of Australia raising interest rates would be better reflected in the remaining months of 2022.

“Overall, we expect the market will be disappointed with this profit update after a strong share price rally from its June lows. Rising rates are expected to lead to a very different fourth quarter result with upside risk to financial year 2023 consensus estimates,” Mr Sproules said.

Mr McEwan said the business is “in good shape for this evolving environment”.

“Balance sheet settings remain strong and we are well advanced on our financial year 2022 term wholesale funding task with $34 billion raised by end June,” he said.

NAB’s investments in digital experiences are expected to exceed $400 million in productivity benefits this year.

“We have a clear strategy and executing this with discipline is our key priority. We will continue to focus on getting the basics right, managing our bank safely and improving customer and colleague outcomes to deliver sustainable growth and improved shareholder returns,” Mr McEwan said.

Despite fears about the deteriorating macroeconomic environment, NAB said its credit impairment charges stood at $11 million “reflecting continued benign asset quality including low specific charges”.

“There has been no impact on credit impairment charges from changes to assumptions used in the economic adjustment or forward-looking adjustments during the quarter,” the bank confirmed.

Mr Sproules said cash earnings were in line with consensus, however they benefited from a very low bad and doubtful debt charge of just $11 million.

“Pre-provision profit of $2.5 billion was in line with Citi but 5 per cent below consensus, driven by weaker than expected revenue growth of just 3 per cent,” Mr Sproules said.

“NAB’s underlying revenue growth [stripping out the impact of acquiring Citigroup’s Australian consumer business] of 2 per cent was well below ANZ’s 5 per cent.”

NAB’s net interest margin (NIM) was also slightly lower, dragged down by markets and treasury performance.

“Excluding markets and treasury, NIM was up slightly reflecting the benefit of a rising interest rate environment, partly offset by home lending competition and higher wholesale funding costs,” NAB said.

While the market had been looking for margin expansion on the back of the Reserve Bank of Australia’s move to hike the cash rate in May and June, Mr Sproules said NIM ex markets and treasury was up “only slightly” compared to consensus expectations for a 4 basis point expansion.

UBS analyst John Storey said “the commentary on NIM is maybe a bit disappointing in the context of some banks which have already reported, but the underlying margin trend is as expected.”

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Groupon lays off over 500 staff after reporting net loss of $129m

Groupon lays off over 500 staff after reporting net loss of $129m

Online coupon business Groupon has culled more than 500 employees in a bid to reduce costs due to poor business performance.

It’s understood staff were cut from the business’s merchant development, sales, recruiting, engineering, product and marketing teams, with the cuts representing roughly 15 per cent of the company’s global 3416 work force.

The move comes as Groupon reported a US$90.3 million (A$129.3 million) net loss in its second quarter results on Monday. The company reported a steep “decline in engagement” and a 42 per cent year-on-year drop in revenue at $153.2 million.

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In Groupon’s earnings release statement, chief executive Kedar Deshpande said the company would be prioritizing “taking decisive actions to improve our trajectory” after the lower-than-anticipated result.

“We are significantly reducing costs, and based on the progress we’re making on our initiatives to drive customer purchase frequency, we are now ready to begin

reinvesting in marketing to drive growth,” he said.

In a letter to staff sent on Monday, Mr Deshpande stressed the business would be “leaning on” outsourcing staff and focusing “only on mission-critical activities”, TechCrunch reports.

The letter indicated Groupon would also be re-evaluating its real estate assets, in what could be a shift to more remote or a blended working environment.

Mr Deshpande said he believed the company could begin to generate positive cash flow by the end of 2022, while increasing “purchase frequency and customer retention”.

In order to turn around the business, the quarterly report flagged “reducing our cost structure” and improving their customer experience as their two key strategies. Part of this included reducing their tech costs by $US60 million ($A85.99 million), which equates to 30 per cent of Groupon’s annual spend.

In Australia, Groupon has been operating since 2011, with its website claiming the company has built a customer base of 3.3 million across 26,000 merchants.

The site allows customers to buy discounted experiences and products, with the business earning affiliate revenue for the sales. A wide range of offers are available on products from discounted pink slips and car safety checks, to massages and helicopter rides.

It’s unclear how the staff cuts will impact the company’s Australian workforce, however news.com.au has reached out for comment. As it stands, the company is still advertising for four sales and buying roles within their Sydney offices.

While the latest round of lay-offs are significant, they’re a fraction of what the company experienced as a result of the Covid pandemic. In April 2020, the company stood down about 2,800 employees, which amounted to 44 per cent of its work force.

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Google hit by worldwide outage as users report search engine down | Google

Google experienced a major international internet outage on Tuesday, technology platforms reported.

The realtime online platform Downdetector reported users had registered problems with Google explorer, the world’s dominant search engine from 2.12am BST (9.12pm EST, 11.12AM AEST.

As of 11.38AM, there had been 4,113 confirmed reports of Google outages.

Users said sister platforms Gmail, Google maps and Google images were also experiencing problems. Both rely on Google’s search engine to operate.

Hi Amanda. The Google Workspace Status dashboard (https://t.co/hWKKeG70F3) doesn’t show any outages. Could you tell us more about what seems to be happening with your Gmail address? We’d be happy to help.

— Gmail (@gmail) August 9, 2022

Network intelligence company ThousandEyes Inc reported Google outages were affecting at least 1,338 servers globally across more than 40 countries including the United States, Australia, South Africa, Kenya, Israel, parts of South America, Europe and Asia including China and Japan.

Users attempting to use the search engine were met with a 502 or 500 error.

“The server encountered a temporary error and could not complete your request,” one error page read.

“Please try again in 30 seconds.”

Users took to Twitter to express their confusion, reverting to alternate search engines including Bing and DuckDuckGo to surf the web.

Google doesn’t release exact traffic numbers however it is the most visited website on the net, receiving more than 80 billion visits per month.

Google is experiencing an outage so I am literally on bing dot com.

— Jesslyn 🇮🇩 (@jtannady) August 9, 2022

The company had not commented publicly on the outage or its cause.

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KFC launches plant-based popcorn chicken, Wicked Wings

KFC launches plant-based popcorn chicken, Wicked Wings

Fans of fast food giant KFC have gotten a hot new take on a favorite menu item for a limited time only – but not everyone’s convinced.

KFC has announced a new meat-free option that takes the iconic spice of Wicked Wings and packs it into delectable bite-sized morsels known from the fast-food giant’s Popcorn Chicken.

Wicked Popcorn is completely plant-based – however the menu item is currently only being trialled at select outlets in NSW.

A sampling of the Wicked Popcorn in news.com.au’s newsroom had those tasting it divided.

“The weird fake chicken is actually pretty good?” one offered, while another admitted, “I think I prefer it to normal popcorn chicken.”

But not everyone agreed – others found it “rubbery” and that it “tasted like broccoli”.

From August 9 to September 5, Wicked Popcorn, the Wicked Popcorn Bowl and Wicked

Popcorn Combo can be purchased from 14 KFC restaurants on the South Coast.

In addition, KFC has dropped a brand-new Lime Ranch dipping sauce to combine spicy, zest and crunch.

Sally Spriggs, CMO at KFC Australia, commented: “We’re excited to serve up Wicked Popcorn – an innovative product that offers more choice on our menu.

“We’re always looking to treat our fans with new products, so we hope they’ll enjoy this meat-free option which offers that great KFC taste our fans know and love.

“South Coast locals should head down to KFC for the limited-time offer and try it while they can.”

The Wicked Popcorn can be purchased from the 14 restaurants or the KFC app.

A snack-sized Wicked Popcorn and Lime Ranch sauce retails for just $2.95.

The offer is for a limited time only.

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Australia rent prices: Real cause of property market crisis revealed

Australia rent prices: Real cause of property market crisis revealed

The cause of Australia’s worsening rental crisis runs far deeper than the economic pressures behind rising interest rates and soaring inflation, a prominent real estate expert has revealed.

Ray Ellis says the crisis will deepen without swift action from state governments on social housing and new build “red tape”.

Mr Ellis, former director of the Real Estate Institute of Australia and First National Real Estate chief executive, warned Australia has nowhere near enough homes to cater for its population, let alone accommodate migration increasing in the wake of the Covid pandemic.

He said state governments must urgently take responsibility for the immediate need for more social housing to remove pressure on the private sector.

“Between 1955 and 1964, state governments built about 140,000 social houses. We’ve never built that amount again,” Mr Ellis told news.com.au.

“There have been government incentives for landlords to become property owners and rent properties, and that has been the mainstay of any government policy.

“Social housing has become the responsibility of the private sector.”

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Significant lags on new developments largely hindered by “bureaucracy” also meant it was taking several years before construction could even begin.

“In the last 25 years, the provision of new land to build more houses by more private developers has been very slow and very cumbersome,” Mr Ellis said.

“It will take two years to go from the concept to the start of construction.

“Its just bogged down in bureaucracy by non-action or slowness in action.”

Slow-moving developments and underfunded and underresourced social housing were major contributors to the crisis, alongside a shift in attitude among landlords, Mr Ellis said.

He had observed landlords becoming frustrated at new regulations weighted towards tenants and immense pressure to provide rent so low that it would barely cover their costs.

“A landlord wants nothing more than a good tenant, so they will provide rent and services at a reasonable rate and comply with government legislation, but it’s not their responsibility to reduce their rent below what their source of income is,” he said.

Many landlords had become entirely turned off maintaining rental properties and as a result were offloading them, often to investors keen to make the most profit possible by using them as “zombie homes” such as Airbnbs.

“This is a genuine crisis. It doesn’t matter where you are in Australia, there is no rental stock available,” Mr Ellis said, adding that as “migration picks up again, it’s going to get even worse”.

“Australia is just not building enough houses for us to live in, let alone to be rented.”

Impact of ‘zombie homes’ on rental market

A zombie home is a property that is occupied only part of the time – such as a holiday house listed on Airbnb – that is not available to rent on a short or long term lease but can generate large profits for the owner.

Throughout any city there are “hundreds if not thousands” of zombie homes, especially in coastal areas, that are occupied one or two days a week, Mr Ellis said.

“There’s now too many occurring in most cities in Australia.”

The benefit for owners – aside from the financial element – ​​is not having the long-term commitment of dealing with renters, he added.

Zombie homes are widespread, with last year’s census revealing that during lockdown and while Australia’s borders were closed, there were more than one million unoccupied properties.

While it’s a win-win for landlords, renters are suffering from soaring costs, and have to put up with long queues of desperate prospective tenants lining up to inspect properties. This has forced some to live in their cars, a motel or caravan – even couch surfing – to keep a roof over their heads.

“Investors are putting their properties out for Airbnb, but it’s taking rental properties away from renters and that lack of … properties available to rent is driving demand and prices up,” Finder money expert Rebecca Pike told 7NEWS.com.au.

PropTrack’s latest rental report for the June quarter found the number of renters per property listed on realestate.com.au had risen 28 per cent year-on-year across capital cities, with Sydney and Melbourne experiencing the greatest increase.

The number of rental listings in Sydney fell 21 per cent in the last year. The largest declines in listings were recorded in Melbourne (-25.7 per cent) and Brisbane (-24 per cent).

Overall, the number of new listings coming on to the market was 13.8 per cent lower than the decade average in June.

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