Westpac expects the Reserve Bank to cut the cash rate by 25 basis points next week (June 5) to 3.5% with further rate cuts in July, August and one in the fourth quarter to bring the cash rate to a record low of 2.75%. Westpac had previously expected the current easing cycle, which began in…
Latest Property News
Fixed-rate mortgages currently account for around one in four loans (22%) written by Mortgage Choice brokers and could rise even higher following Australia’s biggest mortgage lender, the Commonwealth Bank, cutting fixed interest rates twice in May. However, demand for fixed-rate loans is still well below the record levels written in December 2007 (36%) and February 2008…
CommSec chief economist Craig James has called for the federal government to hold a home building summit. “The Reserve Bank has certainly expressed more concern about the lack of home building in recent months, however it can only do so much in stimulating activity. “Ultimately federal and state governments need to sit down with developers,…
Development is now a dirty word. Some statistics to start: The decade-long average shows new dwelling starts at around 14,000 per month. At present across Australia it is just 11,000 per month – a 20% fall. New house sales are down about 15% from long-term averages; a similar trend can be seen in the new…
The fall in the Australian dollar in the last few months is currently not great enough to encourage expat Australians to invest back in the local residential property market, according to Greville Pabst, chief executive of property valuers and consultants WBP Property Group. Pabst says a falling Aussie dollar is positive news for expatriates, with…
An aerial image service is proving effective as a property management tool, with a South Australia-based boutique property manager lauding its ability to help keep closer tabs on tenants. Steadfast Property Managers principal Mark Leslie said he uses an online map source called ‘NearMaps’ – which is updated monthly – to keep a close eye…
Apartment and housing growth centres are the key to solving Sydney’s growing pains. At a time when Sydney’s housing crisis is worsening, hitting a supply shortfall of about 12,000 to 15,000 a year, hope is finally being provided by three new housing growth hot spots. In the inner south, a wide range of medium- and…
The government is cracking down on arrangements that tie home borrowings to other types of debt. Some investors make the mistake of linking their personal home loan to a property investment loan. They need to watch out because the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) is cracking down on taxpayers who claim deductions for interest expenses on…
Sydney’s house prices rose again during the April quarter, according to the latest Australian Property Monitors data. The median house price was up by 2.7 per cent, with the figure for units also rising strongly, by 2.2 per cent. Most price sectors recorded a lift during the three months ending in April, with the $500,000…
While capital city dwelling values are down -4.5% over the past 12 months, the performances across broad price segments of the market are quite diverse. Capital city home values have fallen across each capital city market over the past 12 months however, when we drill down our analysis across the broad price segments of the…