Paul Sumner is rolling up Australian and New Zealand auction businesses to quadruple the size of his Mossgreen’s business. His comments on what’s happening in the Antipodes would seem to be an interesting take on what’s going on in the entire global market for art and collectibles.

Here’s what he told the Australian Financial Review:

“We’re seeing a generation of people who’ve made their wealth as employees; people are paid a lot more than they used to be,” Sumner says. “There’s also a whole new demographic of wealth; same-sex families, double-income families with no children. Many combinations.”

The things people collect to make their lives more aesthetically, emotionally and intellectually tolerable are shifting with these broader societal mores. Stamps have a discrete, devout market that includes many senior businessmen, while the coin market “doesn’t have booms but doesn’t have crashes either”.

Older entrepreneurs who couldn’t afford prestige cars when they were in their 30s and 40s are fuelling growth in the market for classic Porsches, Mercedes and other marques. The market for the right sporting memorabilia is global and particularly strong in India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka if it relates to cricket. And while antique furniture is out, 20th-century modern is in.

Collecting 2016: antiques out; modern furniture, classic cars, sports stuff in (afr.com)