As uncertainty hits everywhere, the Australian housing market continues its usual path upwards.

Less than two months ago, I let rip at the IMF for titling its latest World Economic Outlook as “Global Economy: Steady amid Divergent Forces” despite the fact a clueless fool sits in the White House ready to unleash chaos should his blood sugar levels fall too low.

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I can’t wait for the IMF’s April update, which will no doubt tell us that the forces remain “divergent” if steady.

The war in Iran makes it rather impossible to say what will happen in the economy over the next six months – aside from gas companies profiting off human misery:

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But there is, admittedly, one other constant in our economy: government policy that juices demand for housing will increase house prices and reduce affordability:

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On Tuesday the latest dwelling price figures revealed that, in a shock to no one, the first home buyer 5% guarantee has caused dwelling prices to soar.

In the December quarter, the average price of dwellings across Australia rose 2.7%, the biggest one-quarter jump since the end of 2021. There was a 7.5% surge in Western Australia – the second-biggest one-quarter jump on record in that state.

The average dwelling price growth in the last three months........

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