In a move aimed at assisting borrowers trapped in mortgage difficulties, the Westpac Group has announced a reduction in stress test requirements for certain refinance applications. Traditionally, banks subject borrowers to stress tests to ensure they can comfortably afford mortgage repayments even if interest rates increase by 3 percentage points above the applied rate. However,…
Consumer sentiment took a hefty knock this month, following on from yet another interest rate hike to a cash rate target of 3.85 per cent. Consumer sentiment in regional Australia in particular is knocking around record lows. House price expectations, on the other hand, have absolutely rocketed back from their lows of Q4 2022. The…
Australia’s property downturn continues to take its toll on premium regional markets that benefited most from the mass exodus away from capital cities during the height of the pandemic, with softer values, longer days on the market and bigger vendor discounts. CoreLogic’s quarterly Regional Market Update, which examines Australia’s 25 largest non-capital city regions, shows…
Overseas interest in Aussie properties has surged to record levels as migration hit its highest point in three years, according to the latest PropTrack Overseas Search Report. During the last quarter, the number of searches conducted from abroad for purchasing and renting properties on realestate.com.au reached an all-time high, surpassing previous records set since PropTrack’s…
The latest interest rate decision was always going to be a line ball; however, the 25 basis point lift will likely be the last in the most rapid rate hiking cycle on record. Although inflation has been trending lower since peaking in the December quarter of 2022, yesterday’s rate hike reflects the RBA’s uncertainty about…
After declining for most of last year, home prices have started to increase again in 2023, with April marking the fourth consecutive month of rises nationwide, according to the latest PropTrack Home Price Index. This is due to factors such as strong migration, limited supply, and tight rental markets, which are offsetting the impact of…
Following ten consecutive rate hikes, mortgage holders may be relieved to learn that the Reserve Bank (RBA) is slowly getting closer to taming inflation. The ABS inflation figures for March showed further signs of gradual cooling in the economy, including a pronounced slowdown in inflation for the construction of new dwellings. On a quarterly basis,…
Melbourne has overtaken Sydney as Australia’s most populous city for the first time since the 19th Century gold rush, following a boundary change. Sydney has proudly held the title of Australia’s largest city for more than 100 years. But with populations rapidly growing on Melbourne’s fringe, the city limits have been expanded to include the…
Property investors- watch out – the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) is after you! The ATO will be compelling banks to hand over data for 1.7 million landlords in a bid to address the $1.3 billion tax revenue lost from residential investment properties. The ATO’s data-matching program will focus on individuals failing to declare rental income,…
In its Rent Report for the March quarter, Domain has emphasized that the rental market in Australia still heavily favours landlords, as tenants face challenging conditions due to increasing demand and limited supply in 2023. Dr Nicola Powell, Domain’s Chief of Research and Economics said: “Across the combined capitals, we’re now seeing the longest stretch…
