News Australia

  Australia’s housing sector has called on the reserve bank to deliver a 50 basis point interest rate cut after a survey showed new home sales have fallen to their lowest level in more than a decade. The Housing Industry Association (HIA), which represents the residential building industry, says new home sales dropped 9.4 per [...]

With the first quarter of 2012 almost over, Melbourne’s property market is showing some encouraging signs. REIV Chief Executive, Enzo Raimondo, pointed out an emerging market trend in his latest real estate newspaper column. He highlighted the positive improvement in the clearance rate when compared with the end of last year. Mr Raimondo noted that [...]

The board of the Reserve Bank of Australia has left the official cash rate at 4.25 percent for the second month in a row. The move was widely expected with inflation at the bottom of the RBA’s target band of 2-3 percent and global economic conditions improving. However, the news may not be met with [...]

Fixed term mortgages hit 3.5 year high in October Basic variable rates were the most popular with new home loan borrowers only 11 months ago, but today they have been far surpassed by ongoing discount rates and fixed rates, according to loan approval data from Mortgage Choice, Australia’s largest independently-owned mortgage broker. At that time, [...]

One in 10 Australian households is in housing stress and at risk of financial hardship and poverty, a new report says. Renters and first home buyers are most under pressure, with 26 per cent of renters and 15 per cent of first home buyers in housing stress, the Australians for Affordable Housing (AAH) said on [...]

House prices are predicted to fall over the next 12 months, as the outlook for residential real estate weakens, but falls will be smallest in New South Wales, a survey shows. The National Australia Bank residential property index, which predicts houses prices, rents and real-estate market conditions over the coming year, said national home prices [...]

The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) left the cash rate steady at 4.75 per cent at its regular monthly board meeting on Tuesday. The decision was expected, with all 11 economists surveyed last week by AAP predicting the RBA would keep rates on hold. The central bank’s board last raised the rate from 4.5 per [...]

NEW home construction is tipped to fall 17 per cent in Victoria this financial year but the HIA says its forecast is not all bad news. The Housing Industry Association says its not all doom and gloom with the state coming off record highs. HIA chief economist Harley Dale said the forecast for a 17 [...]

House prices have fallen almost three per cent so far in 2011 as potential home buyers choose to save their pennies rather than bid for real estate. The RP Data-Rismark Hedonic home value index shows a 2.7 per cent decline in Australia’s capital cities house prices through the first five months of 2011. In the [...]

A threat by the Coalition to overturn the Gillard government’s ban on bank mortgage exit fees has prompted an angry response from consumer group Choice. The ban is due to take effect from July 1, but can still be reversed by a majority vote in federal Parliament. The Coalition would need the votes of two [...]