Category: State of the Market
RBA lifts interest rates
For the past five months, the first Tuesday of every month has seen us here at Century 21 breathe a sigh of relief as the Reserve Bank of Australia delivered their decision to keep interest rates on hold. We assumed that the inevitable – a change in rates – would come at some stage, however each month brought the good news that reprieve had been granted for a little while longer. But apparently this wasn’t to last with November bringing the (somewhat unexpected) news that the...Read complete post
Housing expectations for Australia in 2020
The future is a funny thing. In my experience, we often spend a great deal of time talking about what our lives will be like in the years to come and then suddenly we’re living it. It can be incredibly hard to imagine ‘the future’ and as such many of the ideas we have about what it might be like are simply extensions of our day to day lives in the present. Two researchers, Rebecca Huntley of Ipsos and Bernard Salt of KPMG, recently set out to determine what Australia might look...Read complete post
Is Australia facing a Housing Bubble?
The subject of a ‘housing bubble’ seems to be a media favourite at the moment, with consistent coverage ever since US property investor Jeremy Grantham said in June that it was only a matter of time before the Australian residential property market crashed. I can understand that for those Australians who own property and/or are considering making a property purchase, such speculation may be quite worrying. My colleagues and I at CENTURY 21 have consistently refuted the...Read complete post
Things may be looking up for the Australian property market
September has seen the release of various data by the Australian Bureau of Statistics that could be suggestive of improving conditions in the Australian residential property market. In a report regarding approvals for the construction of new dwellings, most important given the large shortage of homes Australia is currently faced with, the ABS released data at the beginning of this month showing that after falls in April, May and June, there was an increase in the total number of...Read complete post
Plan to beat worsening housing affordability
At the risk of beginning to sound like a broken record, I will again turn to the topic of housing affordability this week. Since my last blog regarding the subject another report has been released which further highlights that housing affordability in Australia continues to worsen. The Real Estate Institute of Australia’s Deposit Power Housing Affordability Report recorded the sixth consecutive quarterly decline in housing affordability in Australia over the June quarter. ...Read complete post
Decreasing housing affordability - will the new government act?
There are two things that I love about the buying and selling of residential real estate. One is the feeling of personal achievement as a real estate agent when a house is sold and a good price has been achieved for your client - it is quite satisfying to know that you have done a good job. The second thing that I enjoy is watching the excitement that many people experience when they buy a property (be it their first or their tenth). For a large number of Australians, the...Read complete post
Good news for home owners as interest rates are left on hold again
For those home owners with a mortgage, or prospective buyers looking to purchase real estate soon, last week’s interest rate decision by the Reserve Bank of Australia was good news and brought some relief. After almost a month of speculation that interest rates would be increased in July, the RBA decided to keep rates steady at 4.5 per cent, making this the third consecutive month that interest rates have been kept on hold. The RBA’s decision came off the back of...Read complete post
Real Estate and The Election
It won’t be long until August 21 rolls around and all Australians will be asked to make a decision about who is to lead our country for the next three years. From the perspective of the property industry, this upcoming election holds a number of key issues, including increasing population growth, interest rate uncertainty, housing affordability and taxes. From my position as General Manager of CENTURY 21 Australia, regardless of who wins the election, I see very clearly...Read complete post