What if Reserve Bank Governor Philip Lowe and his successor Michele Bullock were able to achieve something truly remarkable – a steady decline in inflation without further interest rate increases, and without bringing on a recession? It’s suddenly looking possible. Inflation is now coming down so quickly worldwide there’s probably no need to push it…
Australia’s next Reserve Bank governor, Michele Bullock – the first woman in the job – will take office in September at a time when much of the bank’s work in fighting inflation will be done and its focus will be on changing the way it operates. She is already the deputy governor, having been appointed…
There’s a lot of noise about building in the pipeline, and dwellings ‘under construction’, but of course many projects have been stalled, mothballed, or delayed, and every day there’s a news story about another developer or building firm facing insolvency (three more in the past two days). Overall, residential building activity, as measured in volume…
The pendulum is swinging in favour of tenants! The New South Wales government has appointed its first rental commissioner, Trina Jones, in an effort to “rebalance” the market and protect the rights of renters. Jones, the former chief executive of Homelessness Australia, is said to have a wealth of experience in the housing sector, and…
The RBA Board decided to hold interest rates steady at 4.1% in July to provide additional time to assess the outlook for the economy. In the Governor’s statement today, the RBA said: “further tightening of monetary policy may be required to ensure that inflation returns to target in a reasonable timeframe, but that will depend…
Refinancing made a strong comeback in May, jumping by $1.58 billion to reach a total of $20.97 billion. This marks the second-highest monthly value ever recorded for external refinancing. According to the latest ABS lending indicators, the total value of refinanced mortgages since the beginning of rate hikes has now reached $247 billion when adjusted…
Australian consumers are currently facing a challenging environment due to high inflation. According to this report from Westpac, the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) intent to bring inflation back to the target range of two to three per cent, is putting significant pressure on Australian households. Westpac expect the RBA to deliver two more rate…
It’s halfway through 2023, and with concerns about rising interest rates and talk about a recession, one question many are asking is: What’s ahead for the Australian property market? Interestingly, according to the Domain Forecast Report, Australia’s housing market will be in a well-established, steady recovery over the coming financial year, with select capital cities…
How often do Aussies move homes? Well, data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) show that from 2019 to 2020, 1.14 million households (12% of all households) moved at least once in the previous 12 months. The data also shows that housing mobility is strongly related to the age of the household reference person….
Does Australians’ perception of the ideal family home change? Well, according to recent research commissioned by ING, Australian families are increasingly valuing convenience and smaller, low-maintenance homes as they reassess their priorities in light of rising living costs and the gradual recovery from the pandemic. Aussie families prefer properties in a 20-minute neighbourhood The study…
