Real Estate Institute of Australia (REIA) president, Ms Pamela Bennett says REIA's pre-budget submission, lodged today, focuses on two very important issues for the housing market: housing affordability and inefficient property taxes. REIA is calling on the Commonwealth Government… Read More »

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Today’s National Accounts figures highlight the divergent fortunes of the resources and non-resources sectors of the Australian economy, said the Housing Industry Association, the voice of Australia’s residential building industry. “Today’s GDP result of 1.0 per cent growth for… Read More »

The Reserve Bank's decision to decrease rates by a total of 0.5 per cent in November and December is positive news for mortgage holders in the lead-up to Christmas. "A second rate cut will assist those who are struggling… Read More »

RP Data – Rismark Home Value Index Release In raw terms, capital city home values declined by -0.2% in October (-0.5% seasonally adjusted) prior to the RBA’s decision to cut interest rates. On a raw and seasonally-adjusted basis, the decline… Read More »

The latest Consumer Price Index (CPI) figures show that the Reserve Bank of Australia’s (RBA) consumer price measures of inflation are slowing down. The analytical series of trimmed mean and weighted median both increased by 0.3 per cent for the… Read More »

 The consumer price index for the September 2011 quarter confirms that in recent quarters the RBA has been judging monetary policy on the basis of overstated inflation figures and also leaves the path clear for an immediate rate cut, says… Read More »

A proposal suggested by the Real Estate Institute of Australia (REIA) to address housing affordability is already assisting first time buyers in Canada. So, what are we waiting for? “With the number of first home buyers participating in the housing… Read More »

Melbourne-based Metricon Homes was Australia’s largest builder in 2010/11 according to the latest HIA-COLORBOND® steel Housing 100 Report. The report, which ranks the nation’s largest 100 residential builders based on the number of homes started each year, revealed that starts… Read More »

In a move that was widely anticipated, the Reserve Bank Board decided to keep interest rates on hold in October, marking the tenth consecutive meeting when a decision was taken to hold rates steady. The Housing Industry Association (HIA), the… Read More »

New home sales posted only a slight rise in August following two hefty falls, said the Housing Industry Association, the voice of Australia?s residential building industry. The latest HIA - JELD-WEN New Home Sales Report, a survey of Australia?s major… Read More »

The National President of the Australian Property Institute, Philip Western in a statement earlier today said it was time for the market to act in a fair and equitable manner before the livelihood of many of the Institute's members were… Read More »

Recent media attention has put the spotlight on the rise of online property ‘valuation’ products. The potential risks to consumers using these ‘easy’ and sometimes free ‘valuations’ have been less widely publicised and are not well understood by the public… Read More »

REINSW says the dream of home ownership has ended for many Australians as a result of cuts to stamp duty concessions for first home buyers announced in the State Budget. The comments were made following the O’Farrell Government’s decision to… Read More »

On Tuesday of this week the Reserve Bank (RBA) decided to keep official interest rates on hold at 4.75%. Official interest rates have now remained on hold since November 2010 and have increased just once in the last 17 months… Read More »

The Reserve Bank Board today made the only sensible decision that was on offer in keeping the official cash rate on hold for another month in July, says the Housing Industry Association (HIA), the voice of Australia’s home building industry.… Read More »

The Housing Industry Association (HIA), the voice of Australia’s home building industry, welcomed today’s decision by the RBA Board to keep the official cash rate on hold. "The decision reflects a rare bit of good news amidst mounting pressure on… Read More »

There is no justification for an interest rate hike next week, claims the Housing Industry Association (HIA), the voice of Australia’s home building industry. “The presumption that a clinical, narrow focus on hiking interest rates is the right course of… Read More »

The Housing Industry Association, the voice of the residential building industry, is disappointed that tonight’s Federal Budget represents another missed opportunity to tackle the nation’s growing housing shortage and resultant housing affordability crisis. HIA’s Senior Economist, Andrew Harvey, said that… Read More »

The Reserve Bank Board today decided to keep the official cash rate on hold for the fifth meeting in a row, providing good news amidst an on-going deterioration in housing conditions, says the Housing Industry Association (HIA), the voice of… Read More »

Today’s reports in the media that the Federal Government is considering a new sales tax on investment property as well as a reduction in negative gearing benefits is disturbing and damaging to confidence in an already struggling housing market, says… Read More »

Providing tax incentives to attract superannuation scheme investment in infrastructure would provide a much needed injection of funds for critical urban and regional projects and boost infrastructure delivery for key residential developments, says the Housing Industry Association, the voice of… Read More »

The Reserve Bank Board today decided to keep the official cash rate on hold for the fourth meeting in a row, providing a positive tonic for an ailing new home building sector, says the Housing Industry Association (HIA), the voice… Read More »

Following the significant 11.6 per cent fall in approvals in January, building approvals again fell in February 2011 driven by a major fall in the “other dwellings” component, said the Housing Industry Association, the voice of Australia?s residential building industry.… Read More »

Enquiries for no deposit home loans have increased almost 30 per cent since the start of the year, new research has found. According to data from Experian Hitwise, there has been a 28 per cent rise in searches containing “no… Read More »

The NSW Division of the Property Council of Australia has just released its pre-election Policy Briefing Note to promote solutions that help create an efficient and effective investment environment. The Briefing Note’s recommendations include: Delivering on a long-term strategy that… Read More »

Homeowners will not be slugged with another interest rate rise in March as the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) has held interest rates at 4.75 percent today for the third straight month. Economists were unanimous prior to the RBA's announcement… Read More »

The NSW Coalition’s plan to accelerate the release of land through Landcom is an encouraging step towards improving housing affordability. The plan commits the Coalition to a 30 percent increase in land sales from Landcom over four years and using… Read More »

RBA Statement on Monetary Policy • The recent floods and softer-than-expected economic data have caused the Reserve Bank to tinker with short-term forecasts, but the longer-term forecasts are unchanged. • Given the weaker near term growth forecasts, CommSec has pushed… Read More »

With housing affordability worsening across Australia, the Housing Industry Association (HIA) is calling for swift and decisive action from government at all levels to address the barriers constraining housing supply. Australian property market reports1 continue to support comprehensive research undertaken… Read More »

Since the RBA hiked rates in November, the Australian data flow has gone from bad to worse. The unemployment rate has risen sharply, GDP growth slowed to a crawl and retail sales have nosedived. As such, it's legitimate to ask… Read More »

Higher interest rates and the removal of the First Home Owners Boost has seen September mark a further fall in new home lending, said the Housing Industry Association, the voice of Australia’s residential building industry. HIA Senior Economist, Andrew Harvey,… Read More »

Action is required to create a banking environment where pressure on business loan rates is reduced and small and medium sized businesses can obtain adequate finance, says the Housing Industry Association, the voice of Australia?s residential building industry. “Small business… Read More »

ABS Building Approvals fell for a sixth consecutive month in September 2010, which highlights the deteriorating outlook for residential building in Australia, said the Housing Industry Association, the voice of Australia’s residential building industry. HIA Senior Economist, Andrew Harvey, said… Read More »

Mortgage holders will have to dig deeper after the Reserve Bank decided this afternoon to lift interest rates by 0.25 per cent. It was a surprise move. Inflation figures out last week were lower than expected and most economists were… Read More »

According to Craig James, Chief Economist, CommSec Consumer Price Index• Australia’s main inflation measure – the consumer price index (CPI) – rose by 0.7 per cent in the September quarter, well below economist forecasts. The annual rate of consumer inflation eased… Read More »

According to Aussie Home Loans the banks are beginning to relax their lending criteria (not quite as much as the heady days of easy credit pre Global Financial Crisis), which is good for borrowers trying to crack the housing market.… Read More »

 The latest Housing Industry Association-Austral Bricks Trades Report highlights a further deterioration in the availability of skilled tradespeople in the residential sector. The HIA, the voice of Australia’s residential building industry, said that in the September 2010 quarter the HIA-Austral… Read More »

Making headlines today, The Sydney Morning Herald has reported that residents of Sydney's inner west are lowering the asking price on their home by up to 6.3 per cent in order to achieve a quick sale. The threat of rising… Read More »

The volume of residential land sales fell for a second consecutive quarter in March 2010, while median land values flattened out. The latest residential land report from HIA, the voice of Australia’s residential building industry, and rpdata.com, Australia’s leading property… Read More »

Yesterday's decision to keep interest rates on hold for a second consecutive month is appropriate given clear signs that past rate rises are denting demand and confidence, says the Housing Industry Association (HIA), the voice of Australia’s residential building industry.… Read More »

As we all know, many investors were caught out during the GFC investment-wise, and those caught out also included some in the so-called not-for-profit (NFP) sector.  Actually the name NFP is a bit misleading, as many of these enterprises work… Read More »