Buying an apartment in certain high-density suburbs in the nation's capital cities could now prove potentially more difficult following reporting from the AFR that a number of postcodes have been placed on a ‘blacklist’ by Citibank.
According to new research from Westpac, rentvesting has become the new trend for young Aussies when it comes to getting into the property market.
It turns out soaring house prices are not the only deterrent to Aussie homebuyers, after industry body HIA revealed that the average stamp duty bill in Australia has risen by 16.4% over the past year.
Australia’s housing affordability issues worsened over the June quarter thanks to record high house prices and Sydney was hit hardest of all, according to the Housing Industry Association.
Despite growth in the Sydney property market lagging behind Melbourne’s in the June quarter, rising auction clearance rates have shown that demand for housing in the harbourside city remains high.
There’s been much talk lately about the minutes from the most recent Reserve Board meeting, in which it was revealed that the RBA discussed a “neutral” cash rate of 3.50%. Now, Deputy Reserve Bank Governor Guy Debelle has said the discussion shouldn’t necessarily be taken as an indicator of imminent rate rises.
Sydney’s property market may just have hit another record high, with the median house price now roughly $1.18 million, but when it comes to growth the harbour city is well and truly lagging behind the Melbourne market.
APRA has announced that the big 4 will need to increase their capital ratios to at least 10.5%, in a bid to make capital requirements “unquestionably strong.” But while the move may safeguard banks, borrowers may end up getting higher interest rates out of the deal.
Challenger bank and home loan lender, ME has urged borrowers to ensure they’re prepared for a series of potential rate rises following the release of minutes from the RBA’s July 4th meeting.
Federal Treasurer Scott Morrison has today announced new banking reforms that will allow credit unions and building societies to legally call themselves banks, in a move aimed at increasing competition between home loan providers.