Higher costs for essentials and higher interest rates will be a ‘double whammy’ for households. As universally expected, the RBA made the decision to raise the cash rate at their June meeting, however, the 50 basis point hike was larger than expected. The latest move takes the overnight cash rate to 0.85%. Interest rates consistently…
If you want to increase the rental yield on your investment property, there are proven strategies to bring in a higher rent without driving tenants away. With the right improvements, landlords can increase the amount they charge for rent, but there is a fine line between improvements that can increase rental income and those which…
More than half of Australian mortgage holders who took out a new home loan with one of the major banks lied about their circumstances to make sure their loan was approved, shocking new research has revealed. The survey, conducted by UBS, revealed that 55% of Aussies who took out a home loan with ANZ in…
Sydney and Melbourne have been the first capital city housing markets to record negative monthly growth rates this year, joined most recently by Hobart in April, its first fall after 22 consecutive months of growth. But within each of those areas as well as Australia’s other capital cities, micro-market trends are emerging, coinciding with higher…
Housing was a defining issue of this month’s Federal Election and the Labor party’s win brings with it a raft of policy measures designed to address the property market’s biggest issues. The headline ‘Help to Buy’ scheme is likely to be popular with prospective homebuyers, as it provides a more affordable entry point to the…
We know rents are rising across Australia, but the latest inflation data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics gives some interesting insights. Rents in all capital cities rose over the first three months of the year, and this is not really surprising considering the current 16-year low vacancy rates across Australia. However while Sydney and…
There are around 9 million Australians (which accounts for 35% of the population) living in suburbs classified as ‘childcare deserts’, where children outnumber childcare spaces by more than 3-to-1. A new report, published by the Mitchell Institute and Victoria University, maps out the shortage of childcare services across every neighbourhood in the country and compares…
![Lowest unemployment rate since 1974. What now for interest rates? [7 Charts]](https://cdn.propertyupdate.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Unemployment-2-270x200.jpg)
Australia can finally boast its lowest unemployment rate since 1974 after the unemployment rate dropped to 3.9 per cent in April. ABS statistics showed an additional 4000 jobs were added last month, tipping unemployment below 4 per cent for the first time in 48 years. Despite the still-declining unemployment rate, employment growth disappointed up only…
Wage growth levels have remained steady this year with annual increases trickling up marginally. Real wage growth (the difference between wages and inflation) however has crashed by a record low level – with consumers now also confronted with the extra costs of higher interest rates. The ABS reports that the Wage Index seasonally adjusted increased…
Another sign of the strength of our economy is that SEEK’s new job ads rose 2.9% month on month in April, further extending record highs in a 4th consecutive month of growth. Overall, job ads are an incredible 74.1% higher than pre-pandemic levels, indicating labour demand remains elevated even as employment has more than recovered…
