Capital city auction markets reported overall steady results despite the usual surge in early year listings and the added impact on confidence of recent increases in official interest rates. The national weekend auction market reported an average clearance rate of 69.0% over the past week, slightly lower than the 71.0% reported the previous week but…
If you’ve been wondering who’s really driving Australia’s property market right now, the latest lending figures give us a very clear answer. First home buyers are making a comeback. But here’s the twist… they’re coming back armed with bigger loans than ever before, in a market where investors are also doubling down and refinancing activity…
The Australian housing market started the year on a positive note, with national home values rising by 0.8% in January. This represents a slight acceleration from the 0.6% increase seen in December. While growth remains broad-based, with every capital city and rest-of-state region recording gains, the market is showing signs of a “multi-speed” dynamic as…
SQM Research released its latest data on residential property vacancy rates. Australia’s national residential vacancy rate fell to 1.2% in January 2026, down from 1.4% in December The total number of residential vacancies declined to 37,630 dwellings, reflecting a post-holiday tightening in rental conditions as seasonal listings were absorbed. The January result reverses much of…
Australian rents have surged almost three times faster than wages over the past five years, pushing rental affordability to record lows and stretching household budgets across the country, according to Cotality’s latest Chart Pack. Cotality’s analysis shows national rents have jumped 43.9% over the five years to September 2025, compared with a 17.5% rise in…
Anthony Albanese has done what many Australians dream of doing. He bought property. He held it. He watched it grow in value. And then he sold down investment properties and locked in some very healthy profits. So far it’s practically the Australian dream, but here’s where the story gets interesting… Much of that profit was…
When the Reserve Bank raises interest rates the impact isn’t limited to loan repayments, because, to be blunt, it doesn’t change loan repayments or affordability that much. However, it does affect buyer and seller confidence which cools our housing markets in the short term. So what’s this rate rise going to do to our housing…
If you listened only to the headlines this week, you’d be forgiven for thinking Australia’s property market is on shaky ground. Interest rates rose and the future for rates is a little cloudy, affordability pressures dominate the commentary, and buyers are often portrayed as hesitant or exhausted. When the Reserve Bank raises interest rates the…
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…
There has been a spate of articles and commentary in recent days calling on the Australian government to reduce spending. Those calling for government cuts – mostly long-time advocates of smaller government – claim this would lower inflation, and as a consequence reduce interest rates. In fact, claims that government spending is now a very…
