We haven’t even reached the middle of the month and already we’ve seen a lowering of interest rates in Australia, a new President in the US along with an announcement from Pfizer which may be 90% effective in stopping the COVID19 virus. Although it may be a little early to book flights to Europe, November 2020 has shown how quickly markets and sentiment can change. Media coverage over the past two weeks has been heavily focused on the US election. Regardless of your political persuasion or whether you think US politics doesn’t affect you, the US remains the world’s main superpower and US politics and policy can have a significant impact on investment markets. The prospect of a divided government likely means lower stimulus, but also less chance for some of the more contentious policy changes such as higher taxes. Focusing closer to home, interest rates have now hit new historic lows and are expected to remain low for at-least three years. Some banks are now offering home loan rates well below 2%, which is quite amazing when you consider rates were once above 15%. It is important to remember through that rates are low for a reason, put simply it is because the Australian and worldwide economy are suffering. The Australian property market remains in a state of flux, but the outlook looks significantly better than it did back in March, thanks to a combination of extraordinary fiscal and monetary stimulus and other government measures, which were needed following the government’s chosen virus policy path.
On the commercial property front, retail and office property values have seen somewhat of a recovery, but remain off their pre-virus highs, whilst industrial property values have powered ahead helped by the growing thematic shift to online retail.
Lastly, this week we welcomed our newest member of the team – Linda Taylor who brings a wealth of experience and knowledge after working in the profession for many years. Linda has a passion for providing high levels of customer service and will be a great addition to the team.
Synergy Private Wealth