Latest property News

Credit, flat markets to rise in 2019, says network CEO

Wednesday 02 Jan 2019

With the royal commission mostly behind us, the banks will respond by making finance more readily available to first home buyers and investors, and a steadier flow of funding will help get some real estate markets moving again after a couple of challenging years, says Angus Raine, executive chairman, Raine & Horne. “The grey cloud of the royal commission will dissipate in 2019,” he told REB. In particular, the executive chairman expects Perth and Darwin to rebound. &ldq ....

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Capital city values continue to soften

Monday 10 Dec 2018

Adelaide remained steady last week while all other capital cities recorded value falls, latest data shows. Combined, the daily home value index fell by 0.1 of a percentage point in the week ending 9 December. Sydney, Melbourne, Perth and Brisbane repeated their declines from the week prior, falling by 0.5 of a percentage point, 0.3 of a percentage point, 0.2 of a percentage point and 0.1 of a percentage point, respectively. Meanwhile, Adelaide remained steady and saw no movement, CoreL ....

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CBD Smoking Ban

Thursday 11 Oct 2018

One Sydney council area will be the first in Australia to make its CBD smoke-free… with an initial emphasis on education, says its pharmacist mayor At the October meeting of the Strathfield Council, it was decided that smoking will be banned in the Strathfield CBD, and that signage be erected advising locals not to smoke there. It’s an issue which has been discussed for some time, says Mayor Gulian Vaccari, who told the AJP that a report was tabled at the October meeting a ....

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Surprising number of Aussie parents delay retirement to help kids get into the market

Thursday 27 Sep 2018

The 2018 Generational Property Ladder Survey, commissioned by homeloans.com.au, has found that from delaying retirement and sacrificing luxuries such as a new car or a holiday to dipping into their savings, parents are making both personal and financial sacrifices on behalf of their generations to come. The survey revealed that almost two in three parents (65 per cent ) were either currently making financial and personal sacrifices for their children and/or grandchildren to help t ....

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Mixed bag in NSW: Vacancy rates up, rents down

Wednesday 19 Sep 2018

Vacancy rates in the core metropolitan Sydney area saw a rise of 0.2 of a percentage point up to 3 per cent, the August 2018 edition of the REINSW Vacancy Rate Survey detailed. Leanne Pilkington, president of the REINSW, also said that the survey showed vacancy rates in the middle Sydney and the outer Sydney regions both rose to 3.1 per cent from rises of 2 per cent and 4 per cent, respectively. The inner Sydney region also saw a rise in its vacancy rate of 2 per cent up to 2.9 per cent. “ ....

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Spring season expected to pick up quickly — especially in these key areas

Sunday 09 Sep 2018

A surge of activity is expected in Sydney’s Inner West region, with more Inner West properties expected to be listed between now and November, according to Paul Pettenon, principal of Raine & Horne Concord, with higher-end properties priced around the $1.5 million mark.“At the same time, owners are prepared to listen to the market and are pricing their properties accordingly. Also, auction clearance rates in Concord and surrounding suburbs have stabilised, which is a good sign fo ....

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Research suggests bigger banks are worse for customers

Monday 20 Aug 2018

Yet again this week, the Hayne Royal Commission has brought disturbing news of misconduct toward customers of our largest financial institutions. This time super accounts have been plundered for the benefit of shareholders. Recent research from economists at the United States Federal Reserve suggests this problem is not unique to Australia. If true, this supports the argument that larger financial institutions should be broken up or face more regulatory scrutiny. The researchers found that large ....

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Lending standards are dramatically tightening: Westpac

Friday 17 Aug 2018

The significant increase in short-term wholesale interest rates and associated volatility has been a key topic of debate in markets throughout 2018. Initially linked to higher borrowing costs in the US, a further spike in only Australian rates as the June quarter drew to a close saw participants' focus shift to domestic drivers of this pricing activity. There are many market factors that have played a part in the surge in short-term interest rates. All are worthy of discussion, but in this insta ....

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The royal commission should result not only in new regulation, but new education

Friday 17 Aug 2018

The Financial Services Royal Commission has not only shown that banks and their representatives have behaved appallingly, but that we need better-educated consumers. It is naive not to expect new schemes will pop up to replace the now (or soon to be) banned practices. There is a clear pattern of repeating unconscionable behaviour in the financial services industry. Consumers need to be trained to ask the right questions. “How much do I have to pay each week over the life of the loan includ ....

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Why rents, not property prices, are best to assess housing supply and need-driven demand

Monday 30 Jul 2018

UEST OBSERVATION If property prices are rising, it is commonly assumed we must be facing a shortage of supply relative to demand. So if we’re ever going to reduce housing affordability problems, we’re simply going to have to build our way out of it. After all, as anyone who’s sat in an introductory economics class would tell you, basic economics is sufficient to at least suggest that if prices are rising in the long term, then supply must be lagging behind demand. It’s tr ....

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