Today's Fin Review quotes the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry as saying:

'The time has come for Australia's central bank to move decisively to cut rates by a full half a per cent, and for the retail banks to immediately pass it on. There needs to be a significant and unambiguous signal to support activity and lift confidence across the next quarter.'

The Australian Bureau of Statistics released yesterday housing finance and building approvals data showing the economy continues to slow.
 

Housing finance, credit provided to the residential housing sector, including refinancing - fell 1.3 per cent in the month of February. Finance provided to owner-occupiers fell a hefty 4 per cent while 'investor' finance increased 4.4 per cent.

Bank rate rises have slowed demand, the number of new home loans written by banks fell by 2.6 per cent in February compared with the previous month. This was higher than the 1.1 per cent drop recorded by non-bank lenders and the 2.5 per cent average fall for the market as a whole. Building societies are doing better and  were the winners, increasing their number of loans over the month.

However, the banks still dominate the mortgage sector, accounting for 89 per cent of new loans in February by number and 92 per cent by value, according to Australian Bureau of Statistics figures.

What next for property investors looking to expand their property wealth?

Cheers

Antony

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