Mortgage holders will be hoping the new-look Reserve Bank Board will maintain the current interest rate
- Written by Tim McKibbin
Another rate rise would trigger an alarming increase in mortgage stress. Roy Morgan research shows about one-third of mortgage holders in Australia are already in this bracket and further increases will push many more to this critical point.
And yet high energy and petrol prices, as well as the new RBA Governor’s warning about the impacts of climate change, mean we can’t assume the rate rises are over yet.
On the real estate market front, REINSW auctioneers have noted strong interest for apartments in recent weeks.
Clearance rates continue to hold high and steady and quality properties, appropriately priced, are enjoying strong competition.
On the other hand, investor-grade stock is attracting only subdued buyer interest as residential property takes a back seat to less onerous investments which are not targeted by dangerous Government reforms.
For houses, rising prices in Sydney are contributing to the broader recovery in values.
CoreLogic data shows a larger rise in house values compared with units nationally, with Sydney recording the most significant difference through the recovery to date.
This perhaps owes to the 15% decline in house values Sydney experienced through the recent downturn.
From the price highs of the pandemic to the subsequent, expected correction, we are now seeing the weight of demand erase the price declines.
It’s good news for the property ‘haves’ but on the affordability front, it’s more bad news for the ‘have nots’. And the news won’t improve without a major delivery of new supply.
