Thanks - I'll have a look.
Is it really that much cheaper there now? When I was seriously thinking of going there to work I was put off by reports of the very high cost of living.
Tanking AUD effects on housing market
- Thread starter PaulF
- Start date
Thanks - I'll have a look.
Is it really that much cheaper there now? When I was seriously thinking of going there to work I was put off by reports of the very high cost of living.
Shares
Perhaps a little too late, however Look at these stats, quite impressive
http://www.thebull.com.au/premium/a/21733-how-to-profit-if-the-aussie-dollar-falls.html
Australian shares have returned on average 7.2% per annum over the past ten years, with Australian unlisted property returning an even grander 9.5%.
But now turn your eye to the most recent performance numbers; over the past year, international investing has been the top performer with international shares (22%), global listed property (33%), global listed infrastructure (17%), and international bonds (7%) beating most domestic equivalents. (Note that these figures are until June 2011, so they don't factor in the plunge in July & August). For instance, Aussie shares returned 11.9%, Australian listed property, 10%, and Australian bonds, 5.5%.
Perhaps a little too late, however Look at these stats, quite impressive
http://www.thebull.com.au/premium/a/21733-how-to-profit-if-the-aussie-dollar-falls.html
Australian shares have returned on average 7.2% per annum over the past ten years, with Australian unlisted property returning an even grander 9.5%.
But now turn your eye to the most recent performance numbers; over the past year, international investing has been the top performer with international shares (22%), global listed property (33%), global listed infrastructure (17%), and international bonds (7%) beating most domestic equivalents. (Note that these figures are until June 2011, so they don't factor in the plunge in July & August). For instance, Aussie shares returned 11.9%, Australian listed property, 10%, and Australian bonds, 5.5%.
Some index funds have done really well on the back of lower AUD$:
https://www.platinum.com.au/Performance/
https://www.platinum.com.au/Performance/
I'd be wary of reading too much into those figures. Few if any investors get close to market averages. Outperforming the market tends to be a rare event and never consistent.
These figures are also in all likelihood nominal not real. I tend to find good news stories these days, or ones touting stellar performance, are often embellished or goosed for the benefit of the masses. Usually to coax more poor unwitting souls to drop their hard earned on the tables of global casinos we call share markets.
Am I missing something
When the Au$ falling it effects all major currencies.
It hasn't declined much against the yen, not as much against the euro, a lot against USD, pound, Chinese yuan.
To answer another question asked by another poster, yes Japan is very cheap. I have no idea where these high cost of living reports come from, but Tokyo is much cheaper to live than Sydney and Osaka is cheaper than Adelaide.
A key point is the AUD is not falling so much, it's the USD rising.
I'm more interested in the EUR exchange rate and the AUD is holding up ok (1.43), better than a year ago. It's still strong against the pound also (1.91).
So if you're going to visit or buy from Europe (or a lot of other places in the world) things have not got more expensive.
I'm more interested in the EUR exchange rate and the AUD is holding up ok (1.43), better than a year ago. It's still strong against the pound also (1.91).
So if you're going to visit or buy from Europe (or a lot of other places in the world) things have not got more expensive.
I've been buying out of China for the last 12 months or so for a personal project. Some stuff I've bought and then had a design change has prompted me to resell those items. When I go back to the shopping sites to see what I paid I find the Chinese have bumped their USD prices by as much as 25%.
Over the last 5 years buying Chinese stuff through Alibaba and eBay I've noticed 2 things; firstly their customer service is light years ahead of where it used to be and secondly they have steadily pushed their prices up to just under local retail prices in NZ and AU. I'm now looking harder at local sellers than I ever have in the past. The margin differences are small enough to carry the extra cost for the sake of expediency and warranty/guarantee protections not available from the Chinese sellers.
I'd agree with this
