“In trend terms, this is the twelfth consecutive month of falls of housing finance.  This is getting close to the highest recorded number of consecutive declines since the thirteen months from April 1994 to April 1995”, he said. The number of first home buyers, as a percentage of total owner occupied housing commitments, decreased to 16.0 per cent in June, compared to 16.2 per cent in May – well below the long-run average of 20.1 per cent and dramatically down from the 27.1 per cent level a year ago.

In trend terms, the value of investment housing commitments remained steady compared to the previous months, however, on a seasonally adjusted basis, there was a 3.6 per cent decrease. “Investment housing has been the bright spark of housing finance in previous months, however even this is no longer the case”, said Mr Airey.

“We are seeing the cumulative effect of six increases in official rates between October last year and May this year.  This decision by the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) to keep interest rates on hold was justified”, he continued.

“The message for the RBA is abundantly clear, the housing sector needs no further tightening of monetary policy”, concluded Mr Airey.

The total value of total home loans in March was $13.5 billion (seasonally adjusted) and has not been this low since November 2008 when the average standard variable rate was 7.34% – 31 basis points higher than the current average of 7.03%.

The number of mortgage commitments has dropped by 14,628 since March 2009 – with 48,260 home loans recorded by the ABS in March 2010.

more on Terry Ryder’s website www.hotspotting.com.au

Agents failing to disclose a property’s past to a buyer could face a million-dollar fine. Concealing knowledge of noisy neighbours or barking dogs will also attract penalties. The changes came into effect on July 1 when the ACCC merged state fair trading laws into a federal consumer protection law. Real Estate Institute of Victoria chief executive Enzo Raimondo said there had previously been no penalty for failing to disclose a murder house when asked.

He said tightened disclosure laws would give consumers more confidence when buying homes. “It’s about being fair and honest to everybody and if the potential purchaser has asked a direct question the agent should say: ‘Yes that is the property where the murder happened’, if the agent knows about it,” Mr Raimondo said.

There had never been a case in Victoria where an agent had failed to disclose a murder when asked, he said. In 2004, two Sydney agents were fined $20,000 after concealing from a buyer the fact that a house had been the scene of a triple murder committed by Sef Gonzales.

Source: news.com.au

According to Westpac’s chief economist Bill Evans, Australians are more upbeat about the future of the economy, thanks to the latest pause in rates and the recent drop in unemployment.

In addition, Australians also have an upbeat view on spending, with consumer views on “whether now is a good time to buy major household items” rising 7.3 per cent – more than reversing the 5.6 per cent fall over the previous two months.

“The solid base for consumer sentiment is coming from an upbeat view on the economy. The component of the Index assessing the economic outlook for the next 12 months rose 10 per cent while the five year outlook surged 16.2 per cent – consumers remain upbeat on the economy with both components still well above their long run averages,” Mr Evans said

The level of demand for housing by owner-occupiers remains weak, with the number of new mortgages taken out in May dropping by 0.7 per cent and now 26.9 per cent below the peak reached last September. The end of the stimulus boost to the first-home buyers grant accounted for much of this fall. With fewer first-home buyers in the market, fewer people were able to upgrade their homes.

Investors are filling some of the gap, lifting their borrowing by 2.6 per cent in May and by 11.7 per cent since last September, but they are a relatively small section of the market. Mortgages for people buying new houses fell by 0.2 per cent in the month and are now down by 20 per cent over the past six months.Mortgages for people buying new houses fell by 0.2 per cent in the month and are now down by 20 per cent over the past six months.

Shocked residents in areas of Melbourne’s west were left to guessing whether their homes would be snatched in the State Government’s transport blueprint. While the Government confirmed nearly 200 properties – including 52 homes – would face compulsory acquisition under the Transport Plan, residents in one of the key areas under threat said they had been left in the dark.

In Buckley St, Footscray, where 26 homes are earmarked for demolition to make way for expanded rail services, shocked home owners were demanding answers.  Norma Dunn, who has lived in the same house for all her 65 years, received a telephone call from the Department of Transport to say officials would visit today. “We haven’t been told what is going to happen,” said Mrs Dunn, who shares the home with her husband, Graeme.

“I’ve lived here all my life … I came here from the hospital after I was born.  “The thought of not living here any more … I just can’t get my head around it.”

Rhiannon Modica and her partner Murray Fancourt, who bought their Buckley St house four years ago and now have a seven-month-old daughter, had “no idea” what the Government was planning.  “I’m not against more public transport for this area, but the communication process has been very poor,” Ms Modica said.

“They forget that real people live in these houses, real families.”  Another Buckley St home owner, cabinet-maker Robert Deane, said he had embarked on a full-scale renovation of his property – only after being given the go-ahead by a State Government official.

Several Buckley St home owners visited local Greens MP Colleen Hartland for help.  “It’s really distressing when you get people coming in here who have lived in their houses for 65 years and are not being told what’s happening,” Ms Hartland said.

The Buckley St homes are among 193 properties, including 52 houses and dozens of commercial blocks, in Footscray, Yarraville and Melbourne’s port district that face compulsory acquisition.

Australian housing finance commitments for owner-occupied housing rose 1.9 per cent in May, seasonally adjusted, to 48,818, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said on Monday. It was the first rise in the headline figure since September 2009 and it beat market expectations for a rise of 1.0 per cent in the month.

CommSec chief economist Craig James said the headline figure masked signs of a slowing economy.  “The number of home loans taken out is the lowest in nine years,” he said.

“That suggests a significant softening in demand for home loans. “This is what the RBA (Reserve Bank of Australia) wanted, to slow the economy down to a more sustainable level.”

The RBA took the cash rate from three to 4.5 per cent in six moves between October last year and May. The central bank held the cash rate steady at its June and July board meetings. Mr James said he did not expect the Bank to raise the cash rate agin until late 2010. “We’re still penciling in a rate hike by the end of the year,” he said.

Total housing finance by value rose by 0.7 per cent in May, seasonally adjusted, to $21.360 billion, the ABS data showed.

The bushland, the largest pristine parcel in Brookvale, was sold by the Metropolitan Local Aboriginal Land Council last September for under $2 million after acquiring it through the Aboriginal Land Rights Act in 2002. News of the proposed development was not well received by the local residents and the Brookvale Valley Community Group which, along with the MLALC and Warringah Council, signed an agreement 10 years ago to preserve the bushland. Despite the developer’s application being a simple subdivision, council staff expressed the view that a subdivision is not in the “public interest” in what is perhaps the clearest indication yet that development of the site is not wanted.

Other reasons given for refusal included that the proposal was inconsistent with the desired future character of Brookvale Valley and that insufficient information had been provided.
It is the second time the developer’s plans have met resistance. In 2007 the developer had to withdraw a similar proposal as a result of council staff’s “fundamental concerns”.

News of the staff’s recommendation was welcomed by Warringah councillor Christina Kirsch, who is vehemently opposed to any development of the site. “I’m really delighted that staff have seen the importance of that site and recommended refusal,” she said. “It really shows our staff are aware of the need to protect remnant bushland in urban areas to ensure that not everything is overdeveloped.

“The State Government has told us we need to find space for 10,300 extra dwellings, which is ridiculous, so it is all the more important that we protect bushland like this now.” Cr Kirsch urged residents who are passionate about preserving the bushland to attend the Warringah Development Assessment Panel meeting.

The proposal will be considered at the WDAP on Wednesday.

“Fortunately, the Reserve Bank have once again made a considered and accurate assessment of the property market and left official interest rates on hold,” said Mr Airey Since last month’s no change, housing affordability has once again worsened.

REIA released the Deposit Power Housing Affordability Report in early June which highlighted a decrease in housing affordability across all Australian states and territories, with the proportion of income required to meet loan repayments increasing nationally from 30.7% in the December quarter 2009, to 32.6% in the March quarter 2010.

“It has now been 12 months since we have seen any improvement in housing affordability. In March 2009, the proportion of income required to meet loan repayments was 28.8%. Nationally, the average Australian household is now spending an extra $143 per month on their mortgage, compared to the previous quarter,” he said.

“The RBA now need to look at providing stability to the housing market over the longer term,” concluded Mr Airey.

source: www.reia.com.au

The median sale price in those suburbs has increased significantly from $651,000 to $730,000. Compared with Sydney suburbs not serviced by trains, house prices have only risen by 8.3 per cent (3.8 per cent less than suburbs with a train station). The median sale price in those suburbs has increased from $840,000 to $910,000.

PRDnationwide managing director Jim Midgley said ‘black spot suburbs’, that is, non-railway adjacent properties, have registered a small softening of 0.3 per cent over the last five years, indicating a higher demand for dwellings located in suburbs with direct access to a train station.

“Population growth continues in Sydney and this has prompted a high demand for places located near public transport facilities as the capacity of roads to cater for the influx of residents, particularly during peak traffic times deteriorates,” Mr Midgley said.