Commonwealth Bank chief executive Matt Comyn says the economy has made a marked recovery over the last six months and he expects more positive trends this year as low interest rates, government stimulus measures and rising house prices support a rebound in activity. After the nation’s biggest bank delivered a $3.9 billion half-year profit on […]
Despite the challenges of a pandemic, house price rises were relatively consistent globally in 2020 and, in some cases, were stronger year-on-year. The main trend we saw across many housing markets was weak tenant demand driving down rents, but cheap finance and high savings rates driving up values. Cheap finance and high savings rates have […]
The Reserve Bank has held official interest rates steady at a record low while expressing concern about the economic fallout from the stage four lockdown of Melbourne. Following its regular monthly meeting on Tuesday, the bank held the cash rate at 0.25 per cent, where it has been since late March. RBA governor Philip Lowe said […]
Australian housing values racked up a third consecutive month of declines in July, with CoreLogic’s home value index dropping 0.6% over the month, a slight improvement from June when the national series was down 0.7%. Across the capital cities, only Canberra (+0.6%) and Adelaide (+0.1%) posted a rise in dwelling values over the month, while […]
Big changes to stamp duty aim to boost the property market and the construction industry. Picture: Sam Ruttyn Sydneysiders looking to pick up their first property are set to benefit from huge changes to stamp duty. The NSW Government has announced stamp duty will be temporarily scrapped for first-home buyers purchasing newly-built properties worth up […]
Upcoming auctions There are 1,392 homes scheduled for auction across the combined capital cities this week, increasing on the 1,176 auctions last week and higher than the 1,124 last year. Sydney and Melbourne were both expected to see a rise in the number of homes auctioned this week, however given Melbourne’s restrictions, a large portion […]
The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) will keep interest rates on hold in July as experts predict the next interest rate move won’t be for years. The RBA hasn’t moved rates from their record low 0.25 per cent level since March as Australia battles the twin challenges of coronavirus and the economic fallout. All 43 experts […]
Over the past two months, economic and housing market indicators have been fairly subdued. However, they have shown an improvement since April. A rise in sales over May saw a strong absorption of new listings, clearance rates have rebounded since the easing of restrictions, and consumer confidence has risen 33.0% since its trough in May. However, comprehensive coverage of […]
