Well this is the message from the Gillard government, telling Australian investors to dump their banks and to shop around for a better mortgage deal. Further anger comes as Westpac and ANZ cut their links with the Reserve Bank’s official cash rate which remained unchanged last week at 4.25 per cent.

Both the Treasurer and Prime Minister recommended customers to shop around in a bid to place further pressure on the banks to maintain interest rate moves in line with the Reserve Bank.

image: 

Looking Back At 2011

Howard endorses Prof Ian Plimer’s children’s book

Air Line strike at Qantas

Property prices decline

image: 

Property development giant Mirvac was awarded during November, preferred tenderer status for the State Government’s ambitious transformation of Karratha into a vibrant city of 50,000 residents.

The $1.5 billion Karratha: City of the North project involves the development of 1.5ha in the town’s centre, plus a 168ha, 1500 lot residential estate that will link Karratha directly to the coast.

image: 

The longer the banks take to announce their rate cut decision the more likely they will not be passing on the full rate cut. All our Treasurer can do is to threaten more competition for the banking sector. The banks are sighting higher borrowing costs, but given their massive profits, this can’t sit well for home owners, businesses and property investment owners. To pass on the rate cut means a $50 monthly reduction on a mortgage of $300,000.

image: 

While our Treasurer Wayne Swann announced budget cuts are coming and we are about to tighten our belts, the OECD (Organisation for Ecomonic Co-operation and Development) advised Australia is heading for a 4 per cent growth next year which will be fastest rate in the developed world.  This news together with The Reserve Bank of Australia’s base rate cut last month of 25 base points however will not be enough to stimulate the property market.

image: 

The Real Estate Institute of Queensland (REIQ) says Gladstone in the state's central region is the hardest place to find rental accommodation, with vacancies at 0.7 per cent. Less than 3 per cent is considered to be where the market is short of accommodation. Are you a Property Investor  who has recently purchased investment property there?  Also, Mackay in North Queensland has seen a significant drop in available vacancies during the period between June to September.

image: 

A slump in residential house building is still predicted  with residential construction under further pressure indicating housing starts next year will fall sharply. Deutsche Bank is forecasting an 18.4 per cent fall and Brickworks, Boral and CSR have also downgraded their estimates to an average of 144,500. However, forecasts for in 2013 appear firmer with an average estimate of 162,700.

image: 

It seems a number of indicators could be pointing to a change in Perth’s housing and rental values. Slow sales in WA caused stamp duty revenues to the government to be 23.3 per cent lower than expected, but the market may be on the turn. The number of people applying for the state’s $7000 first home owner grant during August rose to a record 892 that points to some renewed home buying confidence.

image: 

The Reserve Bank of Australia has warned financial markets that there is too much enthusiasm in pricing in substantial interest rate cuts during the next 12 months.   However, swap traders are betting the RBA will cut rates some five times during this period.

The IMF has downgraded world economic growth in 2012 to 4 per cent is half a percentage point lower from its June prediction.

image: