Is the strong end to 2017 a sign of things to come?

Economic figures released in recent weeks have been notably stronger than expected, suggesting that the Australian economy had plenty of momentum going into the start of this year. But we doubt this is a sign that 2018 will mark the year that GDP growth really gets going. Indeed, we anticipate that a slowing housing market and still-weak wage growth will keep growth below its potential rate of 2¾ - 3%.