While the property lobby bangs on about a housing recovery this year, the Australian Bureau of Statistics today released its January housing finance figures showing the total value of housing finance fell 2.3 percent, seasonally adjusted. Most of the fall was attributable to a 7.1 percent fall in the value …
In a report released yesterday by Standards & Poor’s, it predicted Australian House Prices could fall by more than 5 percent in 2012 should China experience a soft landing with a GDP growth rate of 8 percent. Earlier this week China’s Premier Wen Jiabao announced his government would target a …
Last month we had a chuckle at a News Limited article encouraging children into the property market. It tried to sell the idea that while minors would have their investment income taxed at 46.5 cents in the dollar it “also means a greater potential benefit from negative gearing.” We can …
ANZ plans to slash 1000 jobs. Qantas announces 500 jobs to go. Billibong will shed 80 local jobs. Air Australia enters administration with 300 staff stood down. Jobs are going left, right and center. Above is a subset of higher profile jobs losses announced just this week. Yet, despite all …
Last month we reported on the ANZ’s decision to break away from the RBA and start setting lending rates independently. Today ANZ has decided to put interest rates up, raising the standard variable rate from 7.3 to 7.36 percent. While the 6bps move is a drop it the ocean, it …
In a surprise move today, the Reserve Bank of Australia has decided to keep interest rates on hold for February. The ASX Target Rate Tracker had the chance of the official cash rate being decreased to 4.00 percent, at 100% yesterday. Even I was 100% certain rates would be cut …
The latest installment of the official House Price Index from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) was released today showing Australian house prices continued to fall in the December 2011 quarter. The weighted average of the eight capital cities fell 1.0 percent in December, ending a year where house prices …
According to SQM research, Melbourne’s rental vacancy rate surged 1 percent in December to a 6 year high of 4.4 percent as the city deals with an oversupply of residental property. There is now 16,000 rental properties sitting empty. A fortnight ago, the Herald Sun reported on a rental glut …
According to Skelton Sherborne, a freight forwarder of mining and construction equipment, imports of heavy machines into Australia fell 62.5 percent in November and December. Skelton Sherborne Director Brad Skelton said the last slowdown of this rate occurred in December 2008 / January 2009 when imports fell 77 percent. He …
More doom and gloom headlines circulate Australian media today with comments from an United States based property analyst suggesting Australian property could crash by more than 60 percent. At the same time, Australian experts counteract the argument saying it can’t happen in Australia, in fact – some say we have …
Australian Bureau of Statistics figures released today show Australia lost 29,300 jobs in December. For the year, there was close to no new jobs created making job growth last year the worst since 1992. Unfortunately this year is not expected be any better. Excessively high levels of household debt and …
While the real estate lobby groups put on a brave face and shower us with news of a recovery (0.1% increase in property prices in November), surging rents, housing shortages, tight rental vacancy rates and that it is never a better time to buy – you will get in at …
It’s the 64 thousand dollar question – With the housing market once again collapsing, just like in 2008, will the government re-introduce the first home buyers’ grant to prop it back up? With a federal election due next year, Aussie Home Loans boss John Symond expects a new boost towards …
It was December 2008. Three months earlier Lehman Brothers had collapsed – credit markets have frozen over. Two months earlier, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd announces the First Home Owners’ Boost, designed to save the housing market, or at least temporary, by encouraging first home buyers to bring forward their purchases …
When the BBC last Thursday warned international markets about a 22.5 percent rise in mortgage repossessions down under in NSW, we thought the Australian media had swept this news under the carpet. Under the headlines of “Fears mount over health of Australia’s housing market”, the BBC reported on what is …
Real Estate Agents and Property Lobbyists have opened their new years’ bottles of Champagne early today as figures from the RP Data-Rismark home value index show house prices rose just 0.1 percent (noise) in November after the worst year for Australian real estate in more than a decade. Home price …
The Australian Banking Regulator has given Australian banks one week to stress test their resilience to the unemployment rate rising sharply to 12 percent, a 30 percent decline in residential house prices, a 40 percent decline in commercial property values and a contraction of GDP. It is believed APRA want …
Ratings agency Moodys has indicated Australia house prices are simply not sustainable based on simple metrics and has placed Australia’s mortgage insurance industry on negative watch. Ilya Serov, lead analyst at Moody’s said “Capital city house prices have more than quadrupled and household debt has tripled since 1990. Simple metrics …
We have often warned that negative gearing is really only good when house prices are rising. Now the mainstream media is ringing the same bells. The Sydney Morning Herald writes: In a rising property market, negative gearing can be a good strategy to build wealth – but watch out when …
Australia’s Central Bank has today cut the official cash rate by 25 basis points to 4.25 percent, effective tomorrow. This cut follows a 25 basis point cut last month and could suggest the economy is not as robust as initially thought, having been bash about by the Eurozone crisis. The …
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