There’s been much fanfare surrounding RP Data-Rismark’s world first daily Australian home value index. Property investors are now able to check capital city house prices daily. Up to now, data tracking the movement of house prices has only been available monthly or quarterly. The next step? Well you can’t trade on the index just yet, but the Australian Securities Exchange is looking into it. Potentially, in the future, overseas and local investors will be able to bet on the direction of Australian home prices. As for the data, well, the new index showed Australia’s housing market stayed reasonably steady for the first two months of the year, with capital city dwelling values rising 0.8 per cent in February.
And Australian Bureau of Statistics building approvals show the number of dwellings approved rose 0.9 per cent in January, seasonally adjusted. It follows a fall of 0.8 per cent in December. New South Wales was a strong performer, with approvals in January increasing by almost 40 per cent. But the Housing Industry Association says that if you take out the New South Wales figures, approvals fell by almost 9 per cent in the month.
The Housing Industry Association’s chief economist Harley Dale has also weighed in on the interest rate debate. Property groups slammed the Reserve Bank’s decision to leave interest rates on hold at 4.25 per cent. Dr Dale says that leaving official rates unchanged, and the mounting possibility of the banks increasing rates out of step with the RBA could see new residential building getting back down to the same lows seen during the global financial crisis. The Real Estate Institute of Australia says a rate cut would have encouraged more first home buyers into the market.
