Interest Rate News
At their September meeting, the Reserve Bank of Australia left the official cash rate unchanged at 1.5%. However, Westpac raised their variable home loan rates out-of-cycle in the last week of August, with ANZ and Commonwealth Bank following.
Despite these rate movements from the big lenders, competition remains strong and many lenders are advertising special offers on new loans to win market share. Recently, we’ve seen several lenders reduce interest rates on fixed rate loans, and some are even discounting variable rates for new customers.
Property Market News
In August, we saw home values continue to slide across many markets. According to CoreLogic, prices dropped -0.38% in the month to August 31 across the combined five capital cities (Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth).
The biggest decline was in Melbourne, where prices fell -0.64%. In Perth, values dropped 0.54%, while Sydney recorded a monthly change of -0.27%. The falls were not as steep in Brisbane – the monthly change was -0.15% and in Hobart they were just -0.13%. Adelaide recorded growth of 0.30% over the month, Darwin’ home values rose marginally at 0.09% but Canberra was the winner with price gains of 0.54% for the month.
Homes are staying on the market longer and auction volumes remain lower than this time last year. For the week ending Sunday September 2, the following results were recorded:
Out-of-cycle interest rate rises, falling auction clearance rates and stalling property prices have turned conditions in favour of property buyers this Spring. If you’re interested in making a purchase, now is the time to see your broker about a pre-approval on your home loan – which will put you in a great position to negotiate on the property you want. If you’re concerned about how the recent rate rises may affect you, please ask for a free home loan health check. Your broker is here to compare the market and find the right loan for you. Please get in touch today.