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The latest data from the Commonwealth Bank Household Spending Intentions (HSI) series released today shows the sharp increase in home buying intentions is continuing. After a measly two-year downturn, homebuyers now appear to be back in a big way. The proportion of Australians planning on purchasing a house is all-time highs, propelled on by three rate cuts according to the latest Commonwealth Bank research. Beyond housing, the overall picture is one of a gentle upturn in consumer spending intentions. CBA’s Chief Economist Michael Blythe said the sharp upswing in home buying intentions continues and intentions are now approaching the record highs... View article »

Australia’s reorientation to apartment living, fuelled partially by young couples delaying families, the lifestyle-oriented boomers downsizing and increasingly more lone-person households; but is this the whole story? It is certainly true that lone-person households are far more prevalent than most Australians realise. Out of the 9.9 million households in Australia reported during the 2016 census, more than 2 million of them (a quarter of all homes) were occupied by a sole person. Lone person households are the largest group of apartment dwellers; however, three-quarters of lone person households are still in either a detached house, attached house or townhouse. The next largest... View article »

National residential property listings increased in October by 2%, according to figures from SQM Research. They ticked to 321,754, up from 318,874 in September. Listings are still down nearly -5% compared to 12 months ago. All states were up over October, apart from Darwin where listings dropped -2.4%. The biggest jump was in Sydney, with listings up over 4% in October, however the harbour capital also has the biggest gap to its stock levels last year, down -19%. Canberra saw the second highest stock level increase, just behind Sydney, to be one of just three capitals with stock levels higher than they were... View article »

Melbourne house values soared a massive 2.4 per cent over October, leaving Sydney trailing in its wake, according to CoreLogic. Melbourne's huge success over the month also took its quarterly gains higher than Sydney, posting 5.7 per cent gains. Sydney house values were up another 1.8 per cent in October, with quarterly gains of 5.3 per cent. The October price surge in houses is the biggest month-on-month gain since May 2015.   Nationally dwelling prices were up 1.2 per cent across all capitals and territories, the fourth month in a row of dwelling value gains. Perth was the only capital not to see... View article »

The Sydney property market is on the move. Sydney’s has recorded its quickest turnaround in decades, with house prices rebounding almost $50,000 last quarter according to Domain’s House Price Report for the September quarter. Houses prices regained almost one-third of the value lost during the two-year downturn, with the city’s median up 4.8 per cent to $1,079,491 according to Domain. Sydney’s house price downturns and recovery The rapid recovery — four times greater than the next strongest quarterly rebound of 1.2 per cent following the 1994 market low — has surprised most property commentators. The recovery can be attributed to: Lower interest rates; The... View article »

Domain’s economists recently announced that Sydney’s property market has rebounded more strongly than expected on the back of recent interest rate cuts and price growth over the next 12 months is expected to be between five and 10 per cent. It isn’t too surprising that Sydney has bounced back quicker than expected. In addition to reduced borrowing costs, lending criteria has also eased and the Federal Election earlier in the year secured negative gearing tax incentives for investors with all of these factors contributing to improved market sentiment. Sydney property continues to outperform other capital cities due to its strong population growth, relatively low levels of unemployment and abundant job... View article »

It’s often true that the squeakiest wheel gets the most oil, and those who make the most noise will often receive the most attention. The same can be said for investors. An unfortunate truth is that when one investor experiences a negative result, they more than likely will voice their negative opinion, leading others to expect that they are in the same boat. This effect is ringing true throughout our market at the moment. Media headlines about shonky building quality, subjective valuations from lenders and even generalised market commentary are all petrifying investors into the idea that they are holding onto ticking time bombs. This blanket view, however, couldn’t... View article »

The big four banks have all only passed on part of the RBA's 25 basis point rate cut, keeping a large chunk for themselves. They've defied treasurer Josh Frydenberg's call for them to pass on the full cut, with further cuts expected in the not too distant future. CBA and NAB were the first to cut their rates on Tuesday, with ANZ and then Westpac following yesterday. Investors were the big winners. Investors with interest only investor mortgage's saw their rates get cut the full 25 basis points by ANZ, CBA and NAB. Westpac were the only ones not to pass fully. The labour market performance was... View article »

JOBS The availability of employment is inextricably linked to the property market, because without a job it’s pretty difficult to pay a mortgage. Mining towns in Western Australia, and to a lesser extent in Perth, are the perfect example. When there were loads of high-paying jobs available, house prices and rents went through the roof. As the boom came off the boil, so too did the housing market. This also explains why Sydney and Melbourne have been our strongest markets historically, as these cities are where the headquarters of banks, media outlets and other corporate giants are located. INFRASCTUCTURE Roads, public transport, schools and hospitals, community centres, places of worship,... View article »

In May 2017, when the changes were announced in the Federal Budget regarding the changes to depreciation that will apply to second-hand residential properties, not many people understood what exchanged changes appeared and how it affected them. Property investors who acquire a second-hand residential property after May 10, 2017, that contain “previously used” depreciating assets, will no longer be able to claim depreciation on those assets. Depreciating assets, in this case, refers to things like ovens, dishwashers, blinds, etc. The Federal Government successfully voted on new legislation to change the way depreciation works, representing the biggest move in the industry. The best way to understand it is to... View article »