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The RBA’s latest rate hike significantly dampened home buyer spirit over the weekend.

Data from Australia Property Monitors found just 7.1 per cent of properties cleared in Brisbane over the weekend – significantly down on the 38.2 per cent achieved this time last week.

The news was just as sour in Melbourne, Adelaide and Sydney.

In Sydney 53.8 per cent of properties cleared – down from the 67.4 per cent achieved this time … Read the full post »

Last week’s interest rate rise has scared off home buyers as auction clearance rates plummeted in both Sydney and Melbourne.

In Melbourne, the auction clearance rate dropped to just 61 per cent – the lowest turn-over since mid-December 2008.

The Real Estate Institute of Victoria chief executive officer Enzo Raimondo said the latest hike had a very quick and hard impact on buyer confidence.

“Some buyers will be concerned that … Read the full post »

Making news this week, The Northern Star has reported that real estate under the sea may become the next big thing.

According to the daily, development company Domeshells Australia is working with inventor Shaun Waterford to create a prototype structure that would allow people to spend extended periods of time underwater. A prototype is about 70 per cent completed

Mr Waterford told The Northern Star that he is hoping to break the … Read the full post »

So you have reached an exciting phase in your life where you’ve decided to buy your very first home! We go in to this with the best intentions, but for some the journey becomes a nightmare instead of an experience to savour. To help along the way, here are our ‘Ten Top Tips’:
1. Do your homework
Don’t buy the first place that takes your fancy without spending time getting to know … Read the full post »

First home buyers are struggling to crack the property market, new research has found.

According to RateCity’s inaugural First Home Buyer Report, the threat of further interest rate rises is stopping many potential home buyers from taking the plunge.

RateCity’s chief executive officer Damian Smith said home buyers had already been dealt three rate hikes earlier this year, and would struggle to cope with any more upwards rate movements.

“RateCity’s First Home buyer … Read the full post »

Making headlines today, The Sydney Morning Herald has reported that residents of Sydney’s inner west are lowering the asking price on their home by up to 6.3 per cent in order to achieve a quick sale.

The threat of rising rates has caused the median house price to drop 2.07 per cent over the past three months.

This drop eclipses the 1.9 per cent quarterly fall recorded at the … Read the full post »

All new apartments in Sydney will be required to have a balcony according to proposed new Council development laws.

The City of Sydney’s draft Development Control Plan, which will be considered by Council next Monday 18 October, aims to amalgamate 62 current planning policies into one document, to simplify and improve city development.

Under the Plan, three quarters of all new apartments in Sydney will be required to have proper ‘walk out’ … Read the full post »

Over the last three decades Australian house prices have recorded periods of extreme growth contrasted with periods of weakness. With the benefit of time, the peaks and troughs of house price growth tend to even out, with Australian house prices recording an average annual rate of growth of 8.4%.

The Australian property market moves in cycles which are influenced by a wide range of factors including unemployment, interest rates, consumer … Read the full post »

After showing signs of growth recovery in the March quarter, national rental growth for houses remained largely flat over the June quarter, the latest report has shown.

According to Australian Property Monitors (APM), national house rents rose by only 0.7 per cent over the June quarter of 2010.

On the flipside, unit rents showed solid rental returns, national growth coming in at 3.5 per cent for the June quarter.

APM economist Matthew Bell … Read the full post »

We developed our Vision, Purpose and Values independently of our logo design. Then to our amazement, we discovered that our logo with its 3 elements confirmed these 3 statements.

After the Government has seemingly found a solution to the Resources Super Profits Tax (RSPT), is now the time to consider an investment in a mining or resource driven town?

Compared with Sydney suburbs not serviced by trains, house prices have only risen by 8.3 per cent (3.8 per cent less than suburbs with a train station). The median sale price in those suburbs has increased from $840,000 to $910,000.

Statement by Glenn Stevens, Governor: Monetary Policy Decision

At its meeting today, the Board decided to leave the cash rate unchanged at 4.5 per cent.

The global economy has continued to expand over recent months, consistent with a trend pace of growth. The expansion remains uneven, with the major advanced countries recording only modest growth overall, but growth in Asia and Latin America, to date, very strong. There are indications that growth … Read the full post »

Australia’s property market has been named as one of the best in the world, thanks to a 20 per cent increase in house price growth last year.

According to a report of 47 countries by Knight Frank, Australia ranked fourth in terms of house price growth.

Knight Frank’s head of residential research Liam Bailey said the stellar growth in property values was driven by a combination of a 40 year low in … Read the full post »

Australia’s dramatic rate of population growth appears to have peaked, with the number of overseas migrants tanking in December.  Total population growth was down 18% in the December quarter of 2009 compared with December 2008.

Net overseas migrants are down significantly since peaking in the March quarter last year at 98,140.  In the December quarter of last year net migration was just 49,170 – about fifty percent lower than peak overseas … Read the full post »

Housing affordability remains an issue however, there are still options for the price sensitive purchaser… particularly within the unit market.

Last week’s Property Pulse looked at the average buying power across each state, the proportion of total sales at prices affordable for the average buyer and the council areas with the greatest proportion of sales at or below average prices for houses. This week we take a look at the same … Read the full post »

With conditions in the residential market slowing substantially during April, we examine the level of vendor discounting apparent nationally and across each of the capitals.

Vendor discounting is a measure of the difference between the price that a property is initially listed for compared to the price at which it ultimately sells. The result is measured as the percentage change in listing price. It is pretty rare that a property will … Read the full post »

The median price is a widely quoted statistic used to provide a measure for housing prices.
WHAT IS IT?
Of course we all learnt at school or university that the median constitutes the middle value of an ordered set of values. So if there are 1001 sales in an area listed from the lowest to the highest, the middle or 501st sale would be the median.
HOW RELIABLE IS IT ?
John Pye Real … Read the full post »

Around Australia, property auctions have enjoyed very buoyant conditions with more than 70 percent of auctions selling under the hammer week on week for the last 15 weeks running.
The number of auctions held across Australia has increased consistently since the first week of August when just 817 auctions were held. The number of auctions scheduled for this weekend is set to be one of the largest, with 1,670 auctions scheduled.

For … Read the full post »