The Commonwealth Bank, Australia’s biggest lender, is forecasting six interest rate cuts in 2024 and 2025 starting in September this year. They also expect dwelling prices to rise a further 5% in 2024. The CBA’s head of Australian Economics, Gareth Aird, says the recent rise in unemployment will force the RBA to take action to…
A panel of 31 leading economists assembled by The Conversation sees no cut in interest rates before the middle of this year, and only a slight cut by December, enough to trim just $55 per month off the cost of servicing a $600,000 variable-rate mortgage. The panel draws on the expertise of leading forecasters at…
The latest 2024 First-Home Buyer Report from Domain, in collaboration with digital lender Unloan, backed by Commbank, offers a deep dive into the evolving landscape for first-home buyers in Australia. This comprehensive report paints a complex picture, primarily influenced by the current surge in interest rates. Quicker savings for a deposit – but it’s not…
The latest ABS Lending Indicators data reveals a surprising shift in December, marking an end to the recent growth spurt in new housing loans. A noteworthy decline of 4.1%, down to $26.27 billion, breaks the consecutive five-month growth streak. The most significant drop was observed in the owner-occupied segment, with new loan commitments plummeting by…
Inflation has fallen for the fourth successive quarter. Australia’s annual inflation rate fell to 4.1% in the December quarter of 2023, down from 7.8% in the December quarter of 2022. The new rate is the lowest in two years and the closest in two years to the Reserve Bank’s target band of 2–3%. The decline…
CPI results for the December quarter showed inflation has fallen once again, from 5.4% in September to 4.1%. This marks the fourth consecutive quarter where inflation has declined on an annual basis, and the December result is below the 4.5% forecast made by the RBA last November. Falling inflation reflects softer demand in the economy,…
There is currently a shortage of properties both for sale and for rent, and this is one of the reasons house prices of kept rising and rents have skyrocketed over the last few years. Sure the government has talked about building 1.2 million homes over the next five years, but remember they’re not going to…
CoreLogic’s national median rent value ticked up to $601 per week last month, equating to the median annual rent of $31,252 a year. CoreLogic median rent is based on a current estimate of rent income, describing what the median dwelling in Australia would rent for if you put it on the market at any given…
The nation’s property market has fully recovered from the 2022 downturn, with combined capital house and unit prices ending 2023 at a new record according to Domain’s latest House Price Report December Quarter. This is the first time they have surpassed the previous records that were set in March 2022 for houses and December 2021…
The final report from the Senate Inquiry into the worsening rental crisis in Australia produced no collective recommendations whatsoever and was a waste of taxpayers’ money, according to the Property Investment Professionals of Australia (PIPA). The inquiry’s final report — quietly released in early December — included a recommendation from the chair for a two-year…