Welcome to our September Newsletter

Spring has arrived and it’s an exciting time for both aspiring property owners looking to get into the market and vendors eager to make a sale.

The real estate market traditionally ramps up at this time of year and we are already seeing auction activity heat up.

In the first week of spring, more than 2,400 properties were scheduled to go under the hammer – up 13 per cent compared to the first week of spring in 2022 – as increasing property prices give vendors more confidence to sell.

This month we saw a third consecutive pause in the cash rate by the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) – welcome news for mortgage holders.

If you’re looking to buy this spring, talk to us about finance pre-approval today.

Interest rate news

At its September meeting, the RBA left the cash rate unchanged at 4.1 per cent for the third month in a row.

Inflation has now passed its peak and the monthly Consumer Price Index (CPI) indicator for July showed a further decline, according to outgoing Governor Philip Lowe.

“The higher interest rates are working to establish a more sustainable balance between supply and demand in the economy and will continue to do so,” he said.

“In light of this and the uncertainty surrounding the economic outlook, the Board again decided to hold interest rates steady this month.

“This will provide further time to assess the impact of the increase in interest rates to date and the economic outlook.”

Michele Bullock is set to take over as RBA Governor from September 18 and homeowners will be waiting with bated breath to see where she takes the cash rate in coming months.

When Philip Lowe was appointed as Governor in September 2016, he didn’t change the cash rate for 29 months.

Some have speculated that Ms Bullock may keep rates on hold as she focuses on the RBA overhaul in response to the recent review of the central bank. Others have suggested the RBA may begin cutting the cash rate within 12 months.

Now is a good time to review your home loan and make sure it still suits your financial situation and future goals.

Home value movements

The housing recovery continued to gain momentum in August, with values rising 0.8% – a sixth consecutive monthly rise.

Every capital city except Hobart (-0.1%) saw a rise in property values over the month of August.

Brisbane led the way at 1.5%, followed by Sydney and Adelaide, where property values were up 1.1%.

CoreLogic Research Director Tim Lawless said the trend in housing values, although generally positive, was diverse.

“Sydney has led the recovery trend to date with a gain of 8.8% since values found a floor in January this year,” he said.

“Brisbane has also posted a strong recovery with values up 6.2% since bottoming out in February.

“At the other end of the scale, some other capital cities are better described as flat, with Hobart home values unchanged since stabilising in April, while values across the ACT have risen only mildly, up 1.0% since a trough in April.

“These are also the only two capital cities where advertised supply is tracking higher than a year ago, suggesting a rebalancing between buyers and sellers is a key factor contributing to the stability of values in these regions.”

Across regional areas, conditions were mixed.

Property values were down over the month across the non-capital city regions of NSW (-0.2%) and Victoria (-0.6%), rising firmly across regional Queensland (0.8%) and SA (0.9%), and holding relatively flat in regional WA (0.1%) and Tasmania (0.0%).

* Monthly Home Values figures as of 31 August 2023
* Australian auction results, clearance rates and recent sales for the week ending 3 September 2023
* The clearance rate is preliminary and current as of 11:35 a.m. 6 September 2023

If you’ve been sitting on the sidelines waiting to pounce on a property purchase, talk to us today and we’ll explain your home loan options and how to get pre-approved on your finance.