Summary: The latest macroeconomic projections from economists at the IMF make for bleak reading. Australians, who are among the world's most heavily-indebted householders, face a particularly difficult situation and this will likely force the country's central bank into a significant policy shift.
The readiness of credit which formerly pushed residential house prices to record highs is now working in reverse as lending standards have been tightened making it much harder to get a mortgage. As home prices have come off the boil, the demand for credit has also turned down, as people are less inclined to buy into a falling market. Where credit growth goes, house prices tend to follow. And this is exactly what we have seen, house price falls have continued to gather steam this year, outpacing the declines seen in the late 1980s during the last recession.
Looking forward into 2019 it is likely that the East Coast housing market will continue to slide as credit conditions remain restrictive with the banks self-regulating, and demand falters, thus weighing on the growth outlook for the year ahead. In January we forecast the East Coast market could see a further 15% of declines throughout 2019.
The economy has also lost momentum in the back half of last year, the Q3 and Q4 2018 GDP readings confirmed that the domestic economy recorded the two weakest quarters of growth since the financial crisis as weak household spending weighs on growth.
In the midst of this downturn the labour market has held up, unemployment is now sitting at an 8-year low of 4.9%. This divergence between the labour market and the economy is something that is puzzling even the RBA, the central bank has stated that it is devoting significant resources to understanding this dichotomy.
But pervasive stagnant wage growth means income growth for the average person is not enough to offset the negative wealth effect felt as house prices continue to deteriorate. For most people, their home is their biggest asset and a significant store of wealth for the average Australian household, so continued house prices declines weigh on household consumption.
Private consumption is a big driver behind the Australian economy and historically represents around 60% of GDP. This means the outlook for household spending is very important in determining the future path of the Australian economy. As we have previously highlighted, the outlook surrounding the consumer in Australia remains fragile, which will see the RBA forced into a corner where there is no option but to cut rates, despite its reluctance.
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