For many Australians, getting into the property market has never been more challenging, so it’s no surprise that policies aimed at helping first-home buyers are gaining traction. Well according to Money.com.au, first-home buyer market could take until 2030 to return to peak levels following 5% deposit scheme expansion. First-home buyer (FHB) loans surged 9.7% in…
If a picture paints a thousand words, then this collection of charts should do a pretty good job of painting the landscape as it affects our economy and our property markets. Each month the RBA summarises macroeconomic and financial market trends in Australia by providing a detailed chart pack. World Economy Australia’s economy doesn’t operate in…
Low vacancy rates have continued to predictably drive house rents higher over April with most capital cities again reporting higher results. Unit rents however reported generally lower rents and higher vacancy rates reflecting the seasonal effects of the lengthy April holiday month. Hobart was the top performer with house rents up by 3.2% over the…
Stubbornly above-target inflation and the risk of pass-through from higher oil prices means this may not be the peak of the rate cycle. In line with expectations, the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) hiked rates for the third time in 2026, lifting the cash rate to 4.35% (from 4.1% previously). This fully reversed the rate cuts…
There’s been a lot of noise in the economic data over the past week, and if you’ve been watching the financial media, you could be forgiven for feeling unsettled. Inflation jumping. Oil prices spiking. Auction clearance rates dipping. The usual voices warning that something is about to go wrong. But if you step back from…
Every week I sit down with the latest property data and try to cut through the noise to find what actually matters for serious investors. And right now, there is quite a bit of noise. Annual CPI jumped to 4.6% in March, up from 3.7% in February, driven largely by housing costs, transport, and food…
SQM Research’s Weekly Asking Prices Index for the week ending 27 April 2026 showed mixed price movements across capital cities. Nationally, asking prices eased slightly over the month, with houses down 0.3%, units up 0.3%, and combined dwellings slipping 0.2%, while remaining 11.5% higher year-on-year. Sydney (-0.5%) and Brisbane (-1.3%) recorded monthly declines in combined…
2026 is shaping up to be another year of solid, though uneven, growth. At its first meeting for 2026, the Reserve Bank lifted the cash rate to 3.85%, up from 3.6%, exactly as most economists expected. That move officially ends the shortest and most modest rate-cutting cycle since the RBA began inflation targeting back in…
Cotality’s national home value index rose 0.3% in April, the slowest pace of growth since January 2025, just ahead of last year’s rate-cutting cycle. The national result was dragged lower by Sydney and Melbourne, where values fell 0.6% over the month. Every month, investors, homeowners, and would-be buyers turn to the latest median property price…
After an extended period of strong growth, the latest data suggests Australia’s housing markets are beginning to move into a new phase, with the early signs of fatigue now becoming evident in Sydney and Melbourne. Australia’s two largest housing markets are showing clear signs of strain, with Sydney and Melbourne recording their first quarterly house…
