The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) today announced the cash rate will move by .25 percentage points to 3.85%. This follows the release of inflationary data last week that showed annual inflation had cooled slightly in the March quarter (7%) compared to the December quarter (7.8%). While many homeowners across the country have been impacted … Read more
One of the country’s leading property economists has delivered an argument for why prices for established homes are poised to enjoy significant growth. Ray White Chief Economist Nerida Conisbee said problems in the construction and rental markets would push people to buy established homes (i.e. those that aren’t brand new), which would drive up prices. … Read more
Global property group CBRE has forecast a “rent-a-demic” for Australia’s industrial & logistics (I&L) sector. The main reason is that the I&L national vacancy rate is just 0.6% – the lowest in the world – which should lead to strong rental growth in most capital cities in 2023. “This is being propelled by the fact … Read more
The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) has changed how taxpayers claim deductions for costs incurred while working from home. You can choose one of two methods to claim working-from-home deductions – the fixed-rate method (which has been updated) and the actual-cost method (which has not). The revised fixed rate method applies from 1 July 2022 and … Read more
The federal government has announced plans to reduce tax breaks for Australians with superannuation balances above $3 million. Currently, earnings from super in the accumulation phase are taxed at a concessional rate of 15%. This will continue for all super accounts with balances below $3 million. However, from 1 July 2025, the concessional tax rate … Read more
With interest rates rising, it’s important to make sure your mortgage rate is still competitive – which is why so many Australians are refinancing right now. However, refinancing can be more challenging when property prices are falling, as they are in many parts of the country. That’s because your equity (or the debt-free share of … Read more
It’s been a tough few weeks for the banking industry, with US lenders Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank collapsing and Swiss giant Credit Suisse forced to accept a takeover offer. As a result, you might be wondering what is the likelihood of an Australian bank collapsing? And what would happen if a bank did … Read more
After rising steadily for more than two years, the average time that Australians have to wait to receive a new car has been trending down for six months. The average waiting time rose from 34 days in June 2020 to 159 days in August 2022 and then fell to 131 days in February 2023, according … Read more
With vacancy rates low and rents growing strongly, the market is crying out for more property investors, to increase rental supply and put downward pressure on demand. But are investors getting out of, rather than into, the market? There are mixed signals, according to Ray White Chief Economist Nerida Conisbee. On the one hand, Ms … Read more
At the Reserve Bank of Australia’s (RBA) March board meeting, it opted to raise the cash rate by 0.25 percentage points. This takes the cash rate to 3.6%, 3.5 percentage points higher than this time last year. As interest rates have increased over the last 10 months, many homeowners have been looking for ways to … Read more
