In good news for mortgage holders, the Reserve Bank Board decided to leave the cash rate unchanged at 4.75 per cent. The Board says credit growth has declined over recent months and that most asset prices, including housing prices, have softened recently.
Australian Bureau of Statistics' data shows building approvals fell 3.5 per cent in June to a two year low. The worst performer was Queensland, with seasonally adjusted dwelling approvals falling by 18.6 per cent for the month. Approvals for private sector houses fell 3.2 per cent in June, led by Victoria with an 8.1 per cent decline.
Also from the ABS, the House Price Index declined 0.1 per cent for the eight capital cities in the June quarter, a decline of 1.9 per cent for the year. The capital city indexes decreased in Perth, Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne, Darwin and Hobart and increased in Sydney and Canberra.
And the June results for the RP Data-Rismark Hedonic Home Value Index echoed those results, revealing capital city housing markets remained flat over the month. The best performing capital city was Canberra, with values up 0.5per cent over the June quarter. The weakest performing capital city was Melbourne, with values down 1.6 per cent over the same quarter. Darwin reported the highest rental yields and Melbourne the lowest.
And that is the Real Estate Report for Monday the 8th of August. Thanks for joining us, I'm Melissa Beaumont Lee for the Finance News Network.
