Residential Recovery?......Not Yet
No one wants to be that guy, the glass half empty guy. But the calls of a recovery in the housing market may be somewhat premature, perhaps even wishful thinking.
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Interest Rates - Steady as She Goes
So, interest rates remain on hold by the RBA at 1.50%. With an inquiry into the financial sector, it would be a very brave bank that raised interest rates at the moment. What we are now seeing is APRA growing some teeth that is supporting the muscle it used to slow investment lending and a recognition that some practices were perhaps a little too easy for some borrowers to access loans.
Read the Full ArticleRBA - A Rock and a Hard Place
This was a link provided to us today by Goran Padezanin which highlights a recent speech given by the RBA Deputy Governor. It is not difficult to see this being a problem for some property owners that continue to leverage any equity that became available to them. Given many markets in Australia are softening in terms of volumes and prices in particular sectors, going to a principle and interest repayment structure could be problematic .
Read the Full ArticleWhat Does Another Interest Rate Hold Mean?
Again, the Reserve Bank has decided to leave the cash rate unchanged at 1.5% and again we will see the banks act on their own. Part of the reason for such a benign interest rate environment (at least for the RBA) was the recent CPI data which came in at just 0.5% or 2.1% for the year. This is only just within the RBA's desired band of 2.0%-3.0%.
Read the Full ArticleInterest Rates Remain on Hold - Nothing's Changed ... Yet
Interest rates remain on hold at 1.50% by the RBA. What is somewhat ironic is that at the same time, there is a parliamentary inquiry into why the banks have not left interest rates on hold. RBA Governor Philip Lowe has stated that there has been an improvement to the global economy, though some uncertainties remain. He makes the case that America has passed the bottom of the interest rate cycle and that inflation has now started to rise in many advanced economies whilst the expectation of quantitative easing largely diminishes.
Read the Full ArticleRBA Cash Rate Versus Standard Variable Home Loan Rate
The RBA cash rate remains unchanged at 1.5%...nothing to see here unfortunately. I suspect I am probably one of the few that are really looking for an interest rate rise rather than the talk about a cut. When interest rates are going up, our economy will have turned the corner, full time employment will have improved and people in theory should have more money in their back pockets.
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