Welcome to our August Newsletter

Spring is just around the corner, and that means it’s almost the peak purchasing time for home buyers.

Property values continue to creep up nationally, but the rate of growth is easing. In July, we saw national home values rise 0.5% – the 18^th consecutive monthly increase.

Perth, Adelaide and Brisbane all performed strongly over the quarter to June, while prices fell in Melbourne, Hobart and Darwin.

Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) Governor Michele Bullock has indicated no cash rate cuts were expected in the near-term after the RBA left the cash rate on hold at its latest meeting.

If you’re planning a spring property purchase, chat to us early about getting your finance pre-approved, so that you can jump on any bargains.

Interest rate news

Homeowners were spared more mortgage pain this month when the RBA decided to leave the cash rate on hold at 4.35 per cent, following better-than-expected inflation figures.

The consumer price index (CPI) rose by 1 per cent in the second quarter of 2024, bringing annual headline inflation to 3.8 per cent.

While this was higher than the March quarter figure of 3.6 per cent, an important measure of underlying inflation (the trimmed mean) declined for a sixth quarter in a row, signalling inflation is still trending down.

It appears inflation is on track to fall within the 2 to 3 per cent target range towards the end of 2025.

The decision to hold the cash rate came amid a dramatic spike in volatility in financial and stock markets, with a huge stock sell-off wiping trillions of dollars in value from major tech companies globally.

“Financial markets have been volatile of late and the Australian dollar has depreciated,” the RBA board said in a statement.

“The board will rely upon the data and the evolving assessment of risks to guide its decisions.

“In doing so, it will continue to pay close attention to developments in the global economy and financial markets, trends in domestic demand, and the outlook for inflation and the labour market,” it said.

In her post-meeting press conference, RBA governor Michele Bullock said the board discussed the recent volatility in global financial markets, but she urged for calm.

She said a near-term cut in interest rates wasn’t on the cards, and she wasn’t expecting Australia to fall into recession at this point.

“For now the board judges the level of the cash rate is appropriate for balancing our inflation and employment objectives,” she said.

“But there is still some considerable uncertainty about the outlook, and I want to highlight here that there is still a risk that inflation will take too long to return to target.”

If you’d like to explore the different home loans and interest rates out there, chat to us and we’ll compare the market for you.

Home value movements

Nationally, property values are still trending upward, but the rate of growth is losing steam. Conditions are quite diverse, with some markets performing better than others.

CoreLogic research director Tim Lawless said available stock was a key factor explaining the diverse outcomes in housing growth trends.

“The number of homes for sale in Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth is more than 30% below average for this time of the year, while weaker markets like Melbourne and Hobart are recording advertised supply well above average levels,” he said. Meanwhile, growth in regional housing values is slower than the capitals, with a rolling quarterly rise of 1.3% across the combined regional index compared with a 1.8% gain across the combined capitals.

* Monthly Home Values figures as of 31 July 2024
* Australian auction results, clearance rates and recent sales for the week ending 11 August 2024
* The clearance rate is preliminary and current as of 11:30 pm, 14 August 2024

With spring fast approaching, we’re likely to see more and more properties coming on to the market in the coming weeks. Get in touch to get pre-approved today, so that you’re ready when the time comes to buy.