Australian Economy Defies globalโ Downturn with Record Home Loans, Rising EV Sales & Discretionary Spending
Canberra – Australia’s economyโฃ demonstrated surprising resilience in theโ June quarter, bucking global trends with record-high home loans, increased electric vehicle adoption, and a surge in discretionary spending, according โขto recent dataโ releases. While much of the developed world grapples with economic headwinds, Australia is โexperiencing growth in key sectors, signaling a divergence from prevailing international conditions.
The Australian economy’sโ performance stands inโ stark contrastโฃ to struggles elsewhere, particularly in the United States, and suggests effective economic โขmanagement is yielding positive results for Australian households. This positive trajectory โฃis occurring amidst a global โคlandscape of โขeconomic uncertainty, raising questions about Australia’s ability to maintain โฃthisโค momentum and offering a potential model for navigating challenging economic โtimes.
Key Economic Indicators – June Quarter 2025
1. Economic Growth: The Australian economy grew 0.6% in the June quarter,โ driven โฃby increased household spending.
2. Vehicle Sales: Australians purchased more hybrid andโค electric vehicles during theโค June quarter, alongside a typicalโค seasonal increase in ute sales. Despite this growth, โขAustralia stillโ trails many developed nations in EV adoption rates.
3. Housing Market: The average value of new โขhome loans reached a record $678,011, a 7.5% increase year-on-year. Australia is one of onyl six OECD members – alongside France, hungary, Iceland, Slovakia, and Spain – experiencing strong growth in โboth housing permits and construction.
4.Consumer Spending: โHousehold spending rose 0.9%โค with discretionary spending climbing 1.4% โขdue to increased activity over the Easter and ANZAC day long weekends. This includes spending on hotels, restaurants,โฃ and recreation.
5. Luxury Spending: The โคincrease in discretionary spending indicates a robust consumer environment, challenging previous narratives of a โcost of living crisis.
Sources: https://www.abs.gov.au/media-centre/media-releases/investment-loans-drive-growth-june-quarter, https://tradingeconomics.com/country-list/building-permits, https://www.abs.gov.au/media-centre/media-releases/australian-economy-grew-06-cent-june-quarter, https://thedriven.io/2025/09/03/australian-electric-vehicle-sales-by-month-and-by-model-in-2025-2/