Short term movements unreliable There seems to be a growing fascination amongst economic commentators about changes in residential property values acrossAustralia.  No doubt this is driven, in part, by investors’ love of tangible assets such as property.  Everyone wants to …

A new market paradigm A year ago we were predicting further interest rate rises and a steady market.  Instead Australians watched as international events overtook our market leading to two rate cuts and the promise of more to come. Some …

What a year it’s been! As we approach the end of the year many investors and more than a few homebuyers will be wondering what will be the next significant event that will impact on our market.  2011 has been …

Reserve Bank cuts rates Investors and homebuyers have welcomed the cut of .25% in official interest rates announced by the RBA on Cup Day. Although rates have been steady for a year there has been much speculation about a likely …

Overseas events influence buyers For the third month in a row property owners and investors have been constrained by events largely out of our control.  Ongoing concern about the Euro-zone economies and the inability of the US economy to reduce …

No Spring rebound yet Rarely has the property market started the Spring selling season with fewer positive leads.  The market is not in recession or anywhere near it, but the lack of positive indicators and good economic news is hampering …

A market seeking direction Overseas events continue to dominate Australian financial markets which in turn impact on how our local property market performs.  This time of the year is typically slow with cold weather, holidays and low motivation affecting the …

Overseas events create caution Rarely has Australia experienced such a vast combination of physical and economic events at home and overseas.  Despite having to cope with floods and hurricanes in the north, pest infestation in our wheat belts, a loss …

Budgets set the guidelines The recent state and federal budgets have set the scene for modest growth over the balance of 2011 with few surprises for property owners. As promised, the state government introduced the initial tranche of cuts to …

Time to re-think priorities Last month we discussed the notion that Melbourne’s residential property market was lacking direction.  Events over the past month have changed that notion and we can now detect a distinct softening in the market. This does …