The number of home loans approved fell the most in five months in July, underscoring ongoing weakness in the nation’s housing sector. The number of loans dropped 1 per cent to 44,804, lower than a downwardly revised 45,278 in June, the Australian Bureau of Statistics reported. Economists had expected housing finance commitments to be flat in July.
Having picked up in the early months of 2012, growth in the world economy has since softened. Current assessments are that global GDP will grow at no more than average pace in 2012.
At its meeting today, the Board decided to leave the cash rate unchanged at 3.50 per cent. Growth in the world economy picked up in the early months of 2012, having slowed in the second half of 2011. But more recent indicators continue to suggest weakening in Europe and
The mortgage crunch in Australia has eased recently as interest rates drop to new lows. This is excellent news for many home owners and investors who had previously been riding a wave of soaring mortgage repayments and increased credit card debt. As a result of the drop in interest rates
Australia’s top central banker says recent interest rate cuts are not designed to spare mortgage holders the pain of falling house prices. Reserve Bank Governor Glenn Stevens said he had no intention of engineering a return to the spiralling property prices and household debt levels which characterised the pre-2007 housing
At its meeting today, the Board decided to lower the cash rate by 25 basis points to 3.50 per cent, effective 6 June 2012. Growth in the world economy picked up in the early months of 2012, having slowed in the second half of 2011. But more recent indicators suggest
Homes across Australia are now at their most affordable in two years as falling interest rates and a slide in house prices put property ownership in reach of more households. A key housing affordability index that tracks the relationship between household income, mortgage costs and price of housing shows conditions
The RBA has advised they are dropping the official base rate by 0.50%. This means the offical cash rate will soon become 3.75% I really reckon the lenders in Aus need to pass 100% of this drop on to customers and we at Austral strongly encourage the lenders to do
The Reserve Bank of Australia has cut interest rates by 50 basis points in an unexpected move that should provide welcome relief to many homeowners. The reduction takes the official cash rate to 3.75 percent. Damian Smith CEO of financial comparison site RateCity called the RBA’s decision “a very big
The board of the Reserve Bank of Australia has left the official cash rate at 4.25 percent for the second month in a row. The move was widely expected with inflation at the bottom of the RBA’s target band of 2-3 percent and global economic conditions improving. However, the news