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…
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…
Property investors are getting ready to take advantage of our housing markets in 2024. The value of total new investor loan commitments rose 1.9 per cent in November and was 18.0 per cent higher compared to a year ago. The value of new owner-occupier loan commitments for dwellings rose 10.1 per cent through the year…
In an interesting twist on rental affordability, recent PropTrack data reveals that renting a house in Melbourne or Hobart is now less expensive than in Adelaide. Adelaide’s house rents have surged by $60 weekly over the past year, now sitting at a median of $560 per week. This represents a 1.8% increase over the last…
Australia’s population grew by 2.4 per cent in the year to 30 June 2023, according to the figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) at the end of last year. On 30 June 2023, our population was 26.6 million people, an increase of 624,100 people over the year. Putting that in perspective it’s…
The prospect of another interest rate hike next month has become more remote after inflation fell faster than expected. The monthly CPI Indicator came in at 4.3% in the year to November, down from 4.9% in October and a recent peak of 8.4% in December 2022. However, Treasurer Jim Chalmers has emphasised that the fight…
Australians seem to keen to hold on to their cash, ready for a rainy day and managed to stash more than $10 billion extra in the bank in the month of November alone. The latest APRA data shows household deposits continue to climb, with Aussies stashing an extra $10.5 billion in the bank in the…
