Professor Vernon Smith, an expert on housing bubbles and recipient of a Nobel prize for Economics for his work, told the Australian Financial Review earlier this week, “You have a pretty good [property] bubble in Sydney and Melbourne.” “It is hard to believe it is very sustainable.” On Thursday, Professor …
AMP has today announced a freeze on lending to property investors while existing property investors can expect a 47 basis point increase in mortgage rates from the 7th September 2015. AMP Limited acknowledges the changes are in response to APRA’s crackdown on investor housing loan growth and will review the …
Following moves last week by the ANZ and CBA to hike mortgage rates on investor loans by 27 basis points, the NAB has today announced it will hike rates on interest-only loans by 29 basis points, a move also designed to slow down investor housing lending growth. Significant growth in …
ANZ is the first bank to move, increasing mortgage rates for investor loans by 27 basis points effective from August 10. The bank says it is following instructions from the banking regulator, the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA). On Monday APRA announced increases to average risk rates for Australian residential …
According to figures from the Domain group, Sydney house prices surged 22.9 per cent in the last year, the fastest pace since the 1980’s. The surge, surpassing growth recorded in the 2001 and 2002 booms according to the Domain’s Dr Andrew Wilson, takes the Sydney median house price past the …
As widely expected, the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) has announced our big banks will need to raise their average risk weights on Australian residential mortgage exposures from approximately 16 per cent to at least 25 per cent, but still shy of the 35 per cent required by our smaller …
The number of new mortgages to owner-occupiers tumbled a seasonally adjusted 6.1 per cent in May, the biggest fall in 5 years according to Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) data released on Friday. The value of loans written to investors fell 3.2 per cent, while owner occupiers slumped 5.3 percent. …
Rents are falling in every state except Melbourne, according to CoreLogic RP Data rental data for the month to June 30. As more investors pile into the market, rents have risen just 1.1 percent this year, the worst result since records started in December 1995. In real terms, rents have …
Australia’s record low interest rate environment has been a challenge for financial regulators trying to cool asset bubbles such as residential housing. Fear of buyers taking on too much cheap debt when interest rates are at record lows is thought to be keeping some regulator’s awake at night, as household …
As widely expected, Australia’s central bank decided today to leave the official cash rate unchanged at 2.0 per cent. In the statement following the policy decision, the Reserve Bank, as it has done over the past couple of months, reiterated “The Bank is working with other regulators to assess and …
According to Google Trends, searches for “housing bubble australia”, “australian housing”, “australian housing bubble”, “sydney housing bubble” and “housing market bubble” surged last month to levels never seen before. Highlights of June 2015 included: Treasurer Joe Hockey denying there was a housing bubble and telling first home buyers they should …
The collapse of commodity prices has sent rental vacancies in Perth to levels “almost approaching record numbers” according to the president of the Real Estate Institute of Western Australia (REISWA). REIWA president told the ABC, “It will not be surprising to see the vacancy rate hit 5 per cent shortly, …
The International Monetary Fund has warned Australia’s big banks don’t appear to be well capitalised and increasing capital should be a priority. The warning comes in the concluding statement following the article IV mission to Australia this month. (‘International Monetary Fund team to examine housing bubble – May 2, 2015‘) …
‘Crazy’ value agnostic investors continue to leverage up in an environment of poor rental growth, according to investor mortgage finance commitments released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics on Friday. In the year to April, NSW property investors have borrowed $64.2 billion to spurge on the residential property market, another …
An open letter from Mel Wilson, Human Resources professional and mother of two from Wodonga, Victoria to Treasurer Joe Hockey. Please share Mel Wilson’s facebook post here. Dear Joe, I just wanted to touch base with you regarding your comment that young people are able to enter the property market …
A day after out of touch Treasurer, Joe Hockey told first home buyers they needed a “good job” that pays “good money” to break into the Sydney property bubble, Reserve Bank Governor Glenn Stevens has weighed into the debate, saying the Sydney property market is crazy, “Yes I am very …
According to Channel 10 Adelaide, The Reserve Bank of Australia has “denied” the Adelaide property market a much needed boost by leaving rates unchanged. You could be mistaken for thinking it was 1989 and the official cash rate was 17 per cent. But, no, the report aired yesterday after the …
Treasury secretary John Fraser told a senate hearing today he has no doubt there is a property bubble in Sydney. “When you look at the housing price bubble evidence, it’s unequivocally the case in Sydney. Unequivocally,” he told the hearing. He warns bubbles have also formed in many parts of …
Sydney and Melbourne residential property markets could already be in a bubble according to the chief of Australia’s Investment and Securities regulator. Talking to the Australian Financial Review this week, ASIC Chairman Greg Medcraft said “History shows that people don’t know when they are in a bubble until it’s over” …
With a smirk on his face, Treasurer Joe Hockey told naive Australians today, the Reserve Bank’s cut to the official cash rate is “good news”. With a continuing deteriorating economy, the Reserve Bank was once again forced to cut the official cash rate, this time to a record low of …
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