Peter Drennan’s note
It’s been a big week of property analysis, though nothing is as big as the event that stops the nation: Triple J’s Hottest 100!
We’re keen followers (and listeners) and to settle the debate about who would win this year, we analysed 32 years of Triple J Hottest 100 data and predicted Olivia Dean’s Man I Need would top the 2025 countdown, based purely on historical linguistic patterns.
The prediction proved spot-on. Pumped that the engine and data did exactly what it said on the tin.
On the property front, we delved into the relationship between internet connectivity and the home: we also uncovered the WA suburb doing the country’s heavy lifting when it comes to housing.
Australia Day - and the Hottest 100 - in the rearview, the world of data truly wakes up next week and we are casting the net far wider than just property and great hits.
If you want a heads-up on what we are analysing more broadly, reply and I will send you the shortlist: and if you’re after research and data for a particular story or angle, let me know.
🗓️Datasets landing this week
ABS CPI: Australia’s inflation continued to cool in November 2025 (last month’s data), with headline CPI flat month-on-month, annual inflation easing to 3.4%, and underlying measures including the trimmed mean and weighted median stabilising around 3.2–3.4%, still above the RBA’s target but clearly moderating. December 2025 data will be released 11:30am 28th January.
ABS PPI: Australia’s final demand PPI rose 1.0% last quarter, beating expectations and marking the fastest quarterly increase in a year, driven by sustained residential property demand and higher construction costs, with annual producer inflation edging up to 3.5%. Q4 2025 data will be released on the 30th of January.
RBA Housing Credit: Australia’s housing credit growth held steady at 0.6% in November 2025 for a fourth straight month, remaining below its long-term average and signalling subdued momentum in housing finance.
📈Other data we’re looking at this week
We’re analysing a survey of both employers and employees on perceptions of AI in the workplace, and even at an early stage the divergence in views between the two groups is striking.
We’re crunching CER data into just how impactful the battery subsidy has been for Australian homes.
We’re carefully analysing shark attack data to better understand the recent spate of incidents in Australia, with a focus on placing these tragic events in proper statistical context and examining what the data may indicate about future risk.
⏩ Data we’re looking into Next Week
ANZ - Indeed Australian Job Ads: Job ads fell 0.5% in November 2025, extending a six-month decline but showing a slower pace of contraction, with pockets of strength in healthcare and logistics even as overall labour demand continued to cool.
RBA Interest Rates: RBA minutes show the board discussed the possibility of a rate rise in 2026 as inflation risks tilted higher, but agreed more data, including Q4 CPI, is needed before judging whether recent price pressures will persist.
ABS Balance of Trade: Australia’s trade surplus shrank to AUD 2.94bn in November 2025, the smallest since August, as weaker exports, particularly minerals and tariff-hit shipments to the US, met record-high imports driven by resilient domestic demand (ABS).
💡Analysis we released recently
➡️Music
Primara Predicts: Triple J Hottest 100 2025
Last week, we analyzed three decades of Triple J Hottest 100 countdowns, examining song titles to predict this year's winner.
Our linguistic analysis model scanned 32 years of Hottest 100 history, tracking words that consistently appeared in winning and high-ranking song titles.
Our model successfully predicted that Olivia Dean's "Man I Need" would claim the top spot.
We also examined Australian representation in the countdown since 1993, analysing the number of Australian songs featured each year. The data revealed that nearly half of all songs across the countdown's 33-year history have come from homegrown artists.
➡️Technology/Property
The 5G Tower Property Tax: Nearly 1 in 4 Australians Won't Buy at Any Price
A 5G tower in view can wipe tens of thousands off a property's value, with new research revealing 55% of buyers won't pay full market price if one is visible.
Nearly a quarter (23%) refuse to buy at any price, while another 23% demand at least a 5% discount.
With Telstra alone adding towers at the fastest rate in three years, up 256% on last year, and now operating 6,421 5G sites nationally, the number of properties facing buyer resistance is growing rapidly.
No Signal, No Sale: 61% of Homebuyers Refuse Properties in Mobile Blackspots
New research exposes a paradox in Australia's property market: most buyers want excellent mobile coverage but don't want to see the infrastructure that delivers it.
While 61% refuse to buy homes in mobile blackspots, 55% won't pay full price for properties near visible 5G towers.
This "Goldilocks zone" demand is shrinking the pool of acceptable properties, with only 8% of buyers willing to purchase blackspot homes without hesitation, and nearly 70% calling for mandatory disclosure laws.
Gen Z vs Boomers: Young Buyers Three Times More Likely to Pay Premium for Fibre Internet
A generational chasm is emerging in Australian property preferences: 60% of Gen Z buyers will pay extra for fibre-to-the-premises internet, compared to just 21% of Boomers. Millennials are backing this priority with their wallets, 14% would pay over $5,000 for superior connectivity.
Overall, 39% of Australians would pay an average $2,000 premium for top-tier internet, with major city buyers in NSW and Victoria leading demand at 43%.
➡️Property
The Perth suburb building homes 10x faster than the rest of WA
While Australia's housing approvals have stalled at just 1% growth, Western Australia is surging ahead with 8% annual growth.
The Perth suburb of Brabham/Henley Brook is driving this boom, approving homes at 10 times the state average, 430 new dwellings in just five months.
Meanwhile, the eastern states are going backwards, with Victoria down 4% and NSW down 1%.
Annual Growth in House Approvals by State
1 in 4 New Homes Now an Apartment as Three-Storey Buildings Surge 86%
For the first time in over five years, apartments now make up more than a quarter (25.1%) of all new home approvals, as Australia pivots toward medium and high-density housing to tackle the housing crisis.
Three-storey buildings are leading the charge with 86% annual growth, while houses have dropped to their lowest share (57.7%) since 2018.
Despite this progress, apartment construction remains 44% below levels from a decade ago, and overall housing approvals sit 19% behind 2015 figures, even as Australia's population has grown by 4 million people.
Annual Growth in Building Approvals by Property Type
😮Data we saw this week that made us sit up
Regulated: Up; Open Market: Down
Chart of the century: on one hand, fascinating how efficient capitalism is at reducing the price of non essentials and boosting the price of essentials.
On the other, whilst cost disease is certainly not the only explanation, it strikes us as rather utopian to imagine childcare costs seeing the same productivity improvements as consumer electronics.
Australia's mining boom dwarfs America's AI investment surge
When Australia experienced it’s mining boom in the 2000s investment surged by 7% of GDP. Fast forward to the AI boom of the 2020s investment has grown only 1% of GDP.
Despite all the hype around artificial intelligence, data centers, and tech infrastructure, the Australian mining investment boom was 7 times larger.
#chartcrime
Now for a bit of fun.
#chartcrime is our favourite X handle. Why on earth is this a bar chart?
We’re excited to have launched our new Data for Media website. (It’s the reason you’re receiving this email.)
As new analysis drops, we make it available for journalists to access and utilise.
If you are looking for your own unique research, data and analysis for a story or angle you’re considering, get in contact and we will help out.
Till next time,
