House Prices Surge 4% in First Five Months of 2009
New housing data shows the value of Australian properties rose 3.9% during the first five months of 2009, nearly wiping out losses incurred during 2008. The RP Data-Rismark national home value index shows prices increased in May by 0.9% to a median of $468,819, just $520 below their February 2008 peak.
Home Prices Hit Fresh Record Highs
Monthly house prices The RP Data-Rismark Hedonic Australian Home Value Index rose by 0.9 per cent in May, the fifth consecutive monthly gain. Over the first five months of 2009 capital city home prices rose by 3.9 per cent, or at an annualised rate of 9.4 per cent. Over the year to May home prices were up 1.6 per cent – the strongest annual increase in nine months.
Is Your Mortgage the Best Place to Park Extra Cash ?
Property commentator Michael McNamara debates the pros and cons of not altering your payments when variable home loan rates change. Australians, by default, are paying their loans off quite rapidly at the moment. Is this the best thing to do?
Mortgage ‘fix-rate’ Fever is Here
Homeowners are rushing to lock in their mortgage rates with fixed-rate loan deals, in the fear interest rates have bottomed and will rise. Mortgage brokers and comparison websites have been inundated with fixed-rate mortgage inquiries in recent weeks - most notably after the Commonwealth Bank raised its variable rate by 0.1 per cent.T
Stamp Duty on Home Loans to Be Scrapped
Stamp duty on housing loans is set to be abolished after the Henry tax review, which is likely to recommend states be given a share of income tax to make up the difference. The most likely path to do this would be for the commonwealth to give the states the ability to impose their own surcharge on income tax, which would be collected for them by the Australian Tax Office.
Reserve Bank Board Adopts Wait and See Policy
RBA Board minutes; ABARE crop report • Reserve Bank Board members agreed on “a wait and see” policy at the last interest rate meeting, noting the significant improvement in economic conditions in domestic and global economies.
50% Saving on Transfer Duty
The State Government announced a NSW Housing Construction Acceleration Plan (HCAP) in the NSW Budget 2009-10. In short, the HCAP means that transfer duty on certain contracts for sale or transfers of certain residential property in NSW will be cut by 50%. The HCAP will apply to anyone other than persons eligible for a First Home Owner Grant or for NSW First Home Plus stamp duty benefits.
Consumer confidence soars 12.7% in June, biggest monthly rise in 22 years
A key measure of Australian consumer confidence has soared 12.7 per cent in June, the biggest monthly rise in 22 years, as the nation celebrates its fortune in dodging a global recession. The survey of 1,200 people by the Westpac-Melbourne Institute showed its index of consumer sentiment jumped to 100.1 in June, the highest level in 16 months.
BUYERS BECOME SELLERS (are you one of these….?)
Did you know many of our property listings are sold without even being advertised? The majority of these ‘express sales’ are to buyers who have pre-registered on our exclusive in-house database. These buyers are notified by email alert at least 2 weeks prior to our new listings being officially placed on the market in Australia.
The Top Four Tips For Buyers...
What’s my budget? Before you start looking, work out how much you can afford to spend. Talk to several mortgage providers to agree your borrowing capacity. This is an essential first step in successful buying. Have I done my homework? Decide on an area you like and do your homework. Find out all you can about the area, watch sales results in the papers and on the internet.
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