The Property Trio (formerly The Property Planner, Buyer and Professor) Podcast By Cate Bakos David Johnston and Mike Mortlock cover art

The Property Trio (formerly The Property Planner, Buyer and Professor)

The Property Trio (formerly The Property Planner, Buyer and Professor)

By: Cate Bakos David Johnston and Mike Mortlock
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 Formerly The Property Planner, Buyer and Professor, our show rebranded in 2023 to The Property Trio.

Residential property is the only asset class we live in, it is where we raise our families, and it is our most expensive investment, yet property advice remains unregulated. Our objective is to educate time-poor professionals through deep insights from our experts who have provided thousands of Australians with personalised advice and education spanning two decades. In a climate where we are overloaded with information and one size fits all recommendations from the media, well-meaning friends and family and so-called advisers, we will distill the raw truth from the ill-informed.

So join the Property Planner, David Johnston, The Property Buyer, Cate Bakos and the Quantity Surveyor, Mike Mortlock as they take you on a journey of discovery through the maze of property, mortgage, and money decisions to empower you to create your ideal lifestyle!



Links to your hosts:
https://www.catebakos.com.au/
https://propertyplanning.com.au/
https://www.mcgqs.com.au/

Copyright The Property Trio Economics Personal Finance
Episodes
  • #312: Why Social Housing Supply Can’t Keep Up - Exploring the Causes, Consequences & Potential Solutions to Australia’s Housing Shortfall

    #312: Why Social Housing Supply Can’t Keep Up - Exploring the Causes, Consequences & Potential Solutions to Australia’s Housing Shortfall
    Jun 2 2025
    Got a question for the trio? https://forms.zohopublic.com/propertyplanningaustralia/form/GotaquestionforthePropertyTrio/formperma/zYCQAxzE_24CVlDafP1ozyzwtmB-8m1iCNtCTgDvHXM

    🏘️ What is Social Housing?
    This week, The Trio unpack social housing — subsidised accommodation aimed at vulnerable Australians. Social housing includes both public housing (state-managed) and community housing (run by not-for-profits). Unlike private rentals, it’s allocated based on need, not market competition, and supports those on low incomes, often dealing with complex challenges like homelessness or family violence.

    🚨 Crisis Accommodation vs. Social Housing
    Cate draws a clear line between crisis accommodation — short-term emergency shelters — and longer-term social housing. Crisis services, often provided by groups like The Salvation Army and Mission Australia, offer additional safety nets with added support services such as counselling and case management.

    💸 How Rents Are Set
    Rent in public housing is typically capped at 25–30% of assessable household income. Rebates are applied to keep rent affordable, based on wage income and benefits. Mike adds that in community housing, Commonwealth Rent Assistance is also factored in, and providers usually charge under 75% of market rent to remain GST-exempt.

    🏠 Affordable vs. Social Housing
    Dave and Cate address the often-blurred lines between affordable housing and social housing. While affordable housing lacks a universal definition in Australia, it usually refers to pricing that’s lower than the market or tied to a percentage of income, and can include both rentals and home ownership. 📉 A Shrinking Share of Housing

    Cate points out that social housing now makes up just 4% of all housing in Australia — a figure unchanged since the 1990s despite population growth. Over 170,000 households are currently on waiting lists, some facing years-long delays. Meanwhile, ageing and abandoned stock is going unused. Cate cites two specific examples in Knoxfield and Ballarat.

    📊 Demand Far Outpaces Supply
    Mike estimates over 565,000 households either live in or are waiting for social housing. Projections suggest that by 2037, Australia may need over 1.1 million social dwellings — far exceeding current policy commitments.

    🌍 International Comparisons
    The Trio compares Australia’s performance globally. At just 4.4%, we lag behind the OECD average (6.9%) and trail countries like the UK (17%) and the Netherlands (34%). The message is clear: more investment and smarter policy are urgently needed.


    ... and our gold nuggets!

    Mike Mortlock's gold nugget: Considering the COVID response and how the Federal government worked with the states... we need to have a national cabinet again to address this issue.

    Cate Bakos's gold nugget: "We need a bi-partisan approach!"

    David Johnston's gold nugget: Setting up a bi-partisan model, (an independent body that is not actually political) is a first start. Dave's three point plan highlighted some of the challenges that need to be addressed with this enormous, and important task.

    Shownotes: https://www.propertytrio.com.au/2025/06/02/social-housing/
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    46 mins
  • #311: REVEALED – The Aussie Suburbs with the Lowest Number of New Dwellings - The Hidden Forces Blocking New Homes in High-Demand Locations

    #311: REVEALED – The Aussie Suburbs with the Lowest Number of New Dwellings - The Hidden Forces Blocking New Homes in High-Demand Locations
    May 26 2025
    Got a question for the trio? https://forms.zohopublic.com/propertyplanningaustralia/form/GotaquestionforthePropertyTrio/formperma/zYCQAxzE_24CVlDafP1ozyzwtmB-8m1iCNtCTgDvHXM


    🎙️In this timely and hard-hitting episode of The Property Trio, Dave, Cate, and Mike unpack a serious supply crisis facing Australian housing. Mike Mortlock shares some valuable research, hot off the press from the team at MCG. The data reveals that hundreds of suburbs across the country have recorded less than 1% growth in housing approvals over a two-year period. These “frozen” suburbs aren’t adding enough new stock to meet even a fraction of demand, despite record migration and ongoing population growth.

    The Trio highlights how this lack of new supply is fuelling Australia’s affordability crisis. Renters are squeezed, first-home buyers are sidelined, and down-sizers often can’t find suitable housing within their communities. Even more alarming is that these figures only reflect building approvals, (not actual completions). This means the true supply increase is likely even smaller.


    The conversation deep dives into the structural barriers that prevent housing from being delivered where it’s needed most. From development taxes and levies making up to 40% of a new home’s cost, to NIMBY, (not in my backyard) opposition and clogged planning systems, the obstacles are significant and widespread. Suburbs like Victoria's Glen Waverley-East, Camberwell North, and Mount Eliza are among those effectively shut off to meaningful development.

    With housing commencements falling 30% short of national targets, and population growth adding 650,000 people in a single year, Australia is failing to keep pace. The Trio explores a range of solutions, from tax and planning reform to public-private partnerships and cultural change around urban density.

    This episode is essential listening for anyone interested in understanding the root causes — and potential solutions — to Australia’s deepening housing crisis.

    📊 Some interesting statistics include:
    • Suburbs with under 1% dwelling approval growth over two years are failing to contribute to national supply goals.
    • Annual dwelling commencements in 2024 sat at 168,000 — a 30% shortfall against the federal target of 240,000.
    • Australia’s population grew by 650,000 in 2023, driven largely by migration — but housing supply hasn’t kept pace.

    .... and our gold nuggets!

    Cate Bakos's gold nugget: For those who are feeling a pinch of "NIMYism", source some information to glean more about planning, the approval process, and the detail of the project itself.

    Mike Mortlock's gold nugget: Community consultation is a multi-faceted issue. There are a number of levers we can apply, but as Mike says, we need to have some real conversations about these levers with some bright minds.

    David Johnston's gold nugget: Government of all persuasions need to consider the taxes they are making from new property, and focus on proper incentives. We need to also consider the areas where we can reduce the red tape, whilst maintaining safety standards in the building industry.

    Shownotes: https://www.propertytrio.com.au/2025/05/26/limited-housing-supply-suburbs/
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    41 mins
  • #310: Market Update Apr 25 – Darwin Dominates, Melbourne Signals Growth Ahead, Quartile Price Movements & Expected Rate Cuts Fuel Confidence

    #310: Market Update Apr 25 – Darwin Dominates, Melbourne Signals Growth Ahead, Quartile Price Movements & Expected Rate Cuts Fuel Confidence
    May 19 2025
    Got a question for the trio? https://forms.zohopublic.com/propertyplanningaustralia/form/GotaquestionforthePropertyTrio/formperma/zYCQAxzE_24CVlDafP1ozyzwtmB-8m1iCNtCTgDvHXM

    This week, Dave, Mike and Cate tackle the data! Nationally, the gains could be described as "soft", but for Darwin and Hobart, things are anything but soft. With a second consecutive strong month, Darwin is once again the star of the show.

    Dave considers that Darwin is in the early stages of a bull run based on a few metrics. Time on market, sales volumes, vacancy rates, rental movement, and new listings and are all combining to suggest that Darwin's demand level has more in store.


    Cate points out that the combined regions are still doing a lot of heavy lifting though. Investor price points and lighter negative cashflow is a likely reason for regional performance, combined with intra-state migration. Retirees and the accepted phenomenon of work-from-home are also contributors to this trend, as are decentralised businesses.

    Quartile performance across the cities also tells us an interesting story. Typically, cities in recovery show an uptick in higher quartile performance, yet as Cate points out, credit can play havoc with this trend.

    Melbourne's lower quartile is still lower, but investor activity could explain this. Investors tend to circle lower price points and Melbourne represents value when contrasted against other states. The higher rental yield has also been compelling for a few investors.

    Are buyers sitting on their hands in Canberra? The Trio chat about the impact of elections on buyer behaviours, particularly in cities with high numbers of public servants.

    And what does this segmented data suggest for our hot cities of 2024, (Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide)? Tune in to find out.

    Rents have almost normalised thanks to higher household formation rates and a slow-down on overseas migration. Most of our capital city house rental movement now sits within the target inflation band; a stark contrast from the heady past three years.

    Rents... good news for renters? Many of our capital city markets have experienced a softening in asking rents for houses. Adelaide, Perth, Darwin and Hobart remain the strongest, but we are far from the peak conditions over thee past four years. Household formation rates have impacted rental growth, as have first home buyer initiatives, migration levels and confidence around employment.

    As Dave points out though, national rental growth is still above target inflation, so it's not all good news for renters.

    for renters. Sales data for Darwin at 35.5% increase over the past twelve months overshadows every other city. Combined with new listings, (which have contracted in our northernmost capital), the supply/demand balance supports Darwin's sheer strength at present.

    Total listings data is slightly under the past five year average, but we do need to take into account the impact of Easter, ANZAC Day and the federal election.

    Old listings, current listings and new listings tell a great story, particularly for Canberra. The fear of public service cuts would have no doubt dampened the sentiment for Canberran purchasers.

    May 2025's Westpac consumer sentiment indices are surprisingly stable, however some of the metrics suggest a degree of pessimism. Buyers are optimistic about the chances of an interest rate cut, yet sentiment is still relatively anaemic.

    Dave shares his updated predictions for some of our capital cities as he talks our listeners through some of the combined leading indicators he's combined for a clearer picture. Cate sheds light on settlement periods and the impact a long settlement can have on data reporting. Many upgraders are currently looking to buy on long settlements in order to give themselves ample time to sell.

    Lastly, Mike decides to introduce a guessing game for the Trio. "Which capital cities will star next month?"

    Let's see who's predictions land closest to the pin next month!

    Show notes: https://www.propertytrio.com.au/2025/05/19/ep-310-april-2025-market-update/
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    58 mins
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