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What does the Reserve Bank’s latest hike mean for property prices?
In November, the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) raised the official cash rate by 25 basis points to reach a 12-year high of 4.35%. While the decision came after a four-month pause, it was widely expected after new RBA governor Michele Bullock said the central bank...
Can Australia really build 1.2 million homes in five years?
Australia is grappling with a significant housing supply crisis which is bad news for both renters and potential homeowners. To solve the problem, the federal government has set an ambitious target of facilitating the building of 1.2 million new homes over the five...
What’s a better strategy: cash flow or capital growth?
As an investor, deciding what type of investment property to buy depends on your overall goals. Generally speaking, you can opt for a property offering immediate cash flow or one that, though negatively geared, has good long-term growth prospects. Positive cash flow...
Three tips for property investors in the current market
Despite the typical doom and gloom in the media, the property market is in good shape right now for property investors, with prices rising, rents rising and interest rates seemingly at or near their peak. In terms of the sales market, the national median price rose...
Property prices to keep rising into next year: Domain
One of Australia’s leading property research groups has forecast that prices will rise in most capital city markets during the 2023-24 financial year. Domain’s forecast, which covers the period between the start of June 2023 and the end of June 2024, is for the...
How to negotiate a lower rate with your lender
The Reserve Bank of Australia has increased the nation’s official interest rate 12 times in just over a year, taking it from a historically low 0.10% to an 11-year high of 4.10% in June. Higher interest rates are no longer weighing down on the property market, with...
Major banks revise property market forecast upwards
It was only a matter of time until economists at Australia’s big banks sharply upgraded their property market forecasts upwards. And who can blame them, what with CoreLogic’s national home value index recently posting its second consecutive monthly rise and gaining...
What does the Reserve Bank’s decision to hold interest rates mean for the property market?
The Reserve Bank of Australia finally hit the pause button on its aggressive tightening cycle in April, holding the cash rate at 3.60% In the statement accompanying the decision, RBA governor Philip Lowe explained that monetary policy operates with a lag. As such, the...
Is it too soon to call time on Australia’s property market downturn?
Here’s a puzzle for you. Ever since the Reserve Bank of Australia started lifting the cash rate in May 2022, Australian property prices have been falling as higher interest rates reduce buyer demand. So why did CoreLogic’s national home value index fall by a...
The Reserve Bank’s hawkish approach isn’t working – and is risking real harm
At the start of the year, many market commentators began to see a faint glimmer at the end of the interest rate tunnel. While inflation climbed to 7.8% over the December quarter, it was lower than the Reserve Bank of Australia’s forecast of 8%. So some thought the...