National Housing Market Update
Hi Everyone,
Here are some updates and insights into what is happening in the residential property market and some predictions for the medium term.
I listened to Tim Lawless from RP Data at the recent Self-Managed Superannuation Conference and it would be worthwhile having a look at the short video that we have attached below to give a pretty good overall summary of things that are currently
occurring in different parts of Australia and to have a look at the direction of some of the trends that property has been exhibiting in various Capitals and regions in general.
Overall, the market seems to be performing in line with the consensus views of most commentators…see articles below:
Great signs for Autumn
Clear evidence is emerging that the Autumn selling season will be just as strong as the Spring 2013 season in Sydney – with other markets such as Brisbane also on track for a good start to the new year.
The first auction Saturday of the season was on February 1. Sydney had 95 homes listed for auction and recorded a clearance rate of 80 per cent. That’s a very strong start to this selling season. read more...
Construction: Queensland the new powerhouse
by Craig James
The good news is that residential work will lift in coming quarters and offset any retracement in engineering work.
The new powerhouse state for construction is Queensland. While the focus has been on the Western Australia in recent years, Queensland has slowly moved up the leader-board, passing NSW and then Western Australia. read more...
Inner cities to continue to perform
Australia’s inner-city suburbs will remain a strong prospect for investors as both young families and downsizers gravitate towards apartment living, according to a 2014 property market forecast.
At the Property Council of Australia Residential Outlook 2014 yesterday, Brian White, chairman of Ray White, said the biggest recent property market trend in Australia was the move towards inner-city areas.
“We have such buoyant inner cities in Australia. I think that’s one of the biggest features that’s happened in my career, seeing the health, the vibrancy, the youth that’s come in, the families that are coming in. They’re making do with the smaller accommodation,” he said. read more…
RATES FORECAST TO FALL TO 2PC By Smart Property Investor Staff Reporter Friday, 06 February 2015 Two prominent economists have praised the Reserve Bank of Australia’s decision to reduce the cash rate and have predicted at least one more cut to come. Domain Group senior economist Andrew Wilson said the Reserve Bank had made the right decision to reduce the cash rate from 2.5 per cent to 2.25 per cent. Dr Wilson also said that another cut is likely, given that the economy received minimal stimulus from the succession of rate cuts between October 2011 and August 2013.
“We haven’t had much action from cutting from 4.75 per cent to 2.5 per cent, so I’m not sure what a 0.25 per cent improvement is going to do,” he told Smart Property Investment's sister publication Real Estate Business. “Certainly the Reserve Bank had to act – it’s really the only tool in the box that we’ve got left.” Pricing gaps across product types and capital cities are widening by Cameron Kusher 30 January 2015 The cost of Sydney housing relative to other capital cities is widening and the cost of buying a house as opposed to a unit is increasing as a record number of units commence construction. The cost of Sydney housing relative to other capital cities is widening and the cost of buying a house as opposed to a unit is increasing as a record number of units commence construction. According to median selling prices over the three months to December 2014 published in the CoreLogic RP Data Home Value Index report, the gap between capital city house and unit prices has never been greater. As at December 2014, the capital city median house price was almost 20% higher than the capital city median house price. In dollar value terms, median house prices are $100,000 greater than unit prices. read more...
John McGrath ignites Sydney's "hot forever" inner ring debate by Jonathan Chancellor 1 FEBRUARY 2015 John McGrath has always been passionate about the property prospects of Sydney’s inner ring suburbs. But last week he went a little further, saying suburbs close to the city are becoming so desirable that they will be “hot forever” But last week he went a little further saying suburbs close to the city are becoming so desirable that they will be "hot forever". The high profile agent stopped short of declaring inner city property prices were immune from price falls. But the chief executive of McGrath Estate Agents told Fairfax Media these areas would always be attractive to buyers. "There is just no end of demand from overseas and local buyers who want to live in those precincts," McGrath said. |
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Sydney property bubble to pop when rates rise, says HSBCWednesday, 11 Feb 2015 | James Mitchell 0 · · A fresh round of cheap credit is further inflating Sydney’s investor-driven property prices. In a research note released yesterday, HSBC economists Paul Bloxham and Daniel Smith predict strong national housing price growth to continue at seven to eight per cent, driven by record-low mortgage rates. “We see Sydney prices rising by 9 to 10 per cent in 2015 and expect that, when rates do eventually rise, there is now a high risk that Sydney will see price falls,” the economists said. “Although we do not see a national housing bubble, we believe that growth in Sydney housing prices is currently running at an unsustainable pace and that any further growth is likely to be met by housing price declines in future years, when interest rates do begin to rise,” they said. A signal of the growing risk of overinflation in the Sydney market is the high level of investor demand, according to HSBC.
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JESSIE RICHARDSON | 10 FEBRUARY 2015 Melbourne growth to stand out in 2016: HSBC's Paul Bloxham Melbourne will see the highest price growth of any capital city next year, HSBC has forecast. In the latest HSBC Australia Downunder Digest report, HSBC Australia chief economist Paul Bloxham forecasts 4% to 8% price growth in Melbourne for 2016, after 7% to 8% growth in 2015. Bloxham expects that in 2015, Melbourne and Sydney will "continue to outpace the rest of the nation", noting that from its mid-2012 trough, Melbourne's housing prices have increased by 20%. Read more
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Commonwealth Bank posts 8pc half-year profit rise to $4.5b By business reporter Michael Janda Updated 11 Feb 2015, 5:49am
PHOTO: The Commonwealth Bank has posted its half-year results. (ABC News: Nic MacBean, file photo) The Commonwealth Bank has reported an 8 per cent rise in half-year profit to $4.54 billion. The bank's preferred cash measure of net profit, which adjusts for some accounting items, also rose 8 per cent to $4.62 billion. CBA said its improved profit came on the back of a 5 per cent increase in revenue, despite subdued conditions in the lending market. It also said it had lowered its cost to income ratio by 70 basis points to 42.2 per cent, as productivity initiatives continued to contain business expenses.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-02-11/cba-half-year-profit-result/6084926
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