Fuel prices are surging and Australia's property market is entering a harder phase

About this episode

Pete Wargent and Chris Bates discuss the impact of surging fuel prices and inflation on Australia's property market.

Oil prices up, construction costs up, confidence down! Pete Wargent and Chris Bates unpack a fast-moving week for property: surging fuel costs, rising inflation risk, collapsing confidence, and what all of that means for rates, building activity, listings, and buyer behaviour. The episode matters because the pressure is no longer theoretical — it is already hitting development feasibility, rental supply, and decision-making across the market. Together they discuss - Diesel has surged to roughly $3 per litre, with Australia especially exposed to fuel shocks; Pete notes this is already flowing through to transport, airfares, freight, food, and service pricing. - February inflation came in at 3.7% headline and 3.3% core, but both hosts stress that this was effectively pre-conflict data, with much bigger inflation impacts still to come through fuel and housing costs. - Consumer sentiment is at its weakest since 1973, services PMI dropped from 52.8 to 46.2, and market pricing has shifted toward a terminal cash rate of about 4.65% by December. Pete also notes bond yields spiked to 4.9% before easing back. - First-home buyers are still transacting despite the nerves, helped by the 5%…

People in this episode

Hosts: Pete Wargent, Chris Bates

Topics covered

• fuel prices
• property market
• inflation
• consumer sentiment
• first-home buyers
• construction costs

Keywords

• fuel costs
• property market
• inflation risk
• consumer sentiment
• first-home buyers
• construction costs
• rental supply

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: 5% deposit scheme

Products: Diesel

Places: Australia, Sydney, Melbourne

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