RP Data Weekly Property Trends

RP Data just released their latest weekly trends data. First the data shows a weekly fall overall in capital city house prices, with Sydney and Adelaide the only centres showing an uplift. Sydney prices continue their run ahead of other states. Median house and unit prices are highest in Sydney, with Perth, Darwin and Canberra … Continue reading “RP Data Weekly Property Trends”

The Current State Of Play In The Property Market

An extract from the latest edition of the DFA report, the Property Imperative, released last week. The Australian Residential Property market is valued at over $5.2 trillion and includes houses, semi-detached dwellings, townhouses, terrace houses, flats, units and apartments. In the past 10 years the total value has more than doubled. It is one of … Continue reading “The Current State Of Play In The Property Market”

Building Approvals Up in July – ABS

The ABS released their Building Approvals data series today to July 2014. The seasonally adjusted figures show a lift on the previous month, although the original data shows a slight fall. The trend estimate for total dwellings approved fell 0.5% in July and has fallen for seven months, however the seasonally adjusted estimate for total … Continue reading “Building Approvals Up in July – ABS”

RBA Reinforces Current Policy Settings

The RBA has made a supplementary submission to the Financial System Inquiry. Of note, they want to limit the extent to which SMSF’s can borrow, especially for property purchase; acknowledges the potential systemic risk from more housing lending, and the potential impact on business lending; and continues to be skeptical about the potential benefits of … Continue reading “RBA Reinforces Current Policy Settings”

Where Capital Growth In Property Lives

In the Opening Statement to House of Representatives Standing Committee on Economics today, Glenn Stevens made the following points: not only are funding costs low, but banks want to lend and are competing to do so more actively than they have for some years; net worth per household has risen by about $120,000 over the … Continue reading “Where Capital Growth In Property Lives”

House Price Momentum Slowing As Value Reaches $5.2 Trillion

The ABS released their latest data on Residential Property Prices today. The total value of residential dwellings in Australia was $5,196,355.9 m at the end of June quarter 2014, rising $112,598.5 m over the quarter. The mean price of residential dwellings rose $9,900 and the number of residential dwellings rose by 37,600 in the June … Continue reading “House Price Momentum Slowing As Value Reaches $5.2 Trillion”

RBA Leaves Rates On Hold – Again

At its meeting today, the Board decided to leave the cash rate unchanged at 2.5 per cent. Monetary policy remains accommodative. Interest rates are very low and for some borrowers have continued to edge lower over recent months. Savers continue to look for higher returns in response to low rates on safe instruments. Credit growth … Continue reading “RBA Leaves Rates On Hold – Again”

Building Approvals Fall In June – ABS

The ABS published their data today on Building Approvals to June 2014. The number of dwellings approved fell 1.1 per cent in June 2014, in trend terms, and has fallen for six months. The seasonally adjusted estimate for total dwellings approved fell 5.0% in June following a rise of 10.3% in the previous month. The … Continue reading “Building Approvals Fall In June – ABS”

Australian Population Now 23.3 Million

The ABS today published its latest population data, to December 2013. The preliminary estimated resident population (ERP) of Australia at 31 December 2013 was 23,319,400 people. This reflects an increase of 396,200 people since 31 December 2012 and 85,100 people since 30 September 2013. The preliminary estimates of natural increase recorded for the year ended … Continue reading “Australian Population Now 23.3 Million”

Government To Review Retirement Income Rules

The Treasury today announced a review seeking feedback on the types of products which would be appropriate for people approaching or in retirement with a focus on ensuring they do not out live their savings. The Government’s superannuation election commitments include reviewing: the regulatory barriers restricting the availability of relevant and appropriate income stream products … Continue reading “Government To Review Retirement Income Rules”