Residential real estate sales in Queensland have hit a five-year high, according to new statistics from the Real Estate Institute of Queensland (REIQ). The fresh data reveals Queensland recorded $51 billion worth of residential real estate transactions in 2014, the highest level since 2010. REIQ CEO Antonia Mercorella said sales volumes also hit a five year high in 2014, with approximately 114,000 transactions recorded throughout the State. "The value of transactions in Queensla...

Analyst and author Cameron Kusher noted that making a gross profit or loss on property differs significantly from property-to-property and area-to-area, and in some instances is based on the length of time a property has been owned.  For homes purchased on or after January 1st, 2008, the propensity to make a loss on the resale climbs substantially. Of those homes that resold over the December 2014 quarter, 14.1 per cent recorded a gross loss relative to the previous purchase price. ...

The Reserve Bank (RBA) released the minutes of its monthly board meeting early this week. At the meeting the RBA's board decided to keep official interest rates on hold at 2.25% following a 25 basis point cut to rates the previous month. The minutes revealed that in deciding to keep interest rates on hold the board had decided to give the economy time to adjust to the cut in rates the previous month. The minutes did note that while the cash rate was going to be on hold i...

Never before has the Brisbane skyline changed as much as it will in the coming 5 years.  There is an explosion of new residential apartments on the way and what this will do to the Brisbane real estate market is what everyone is questioning. 
Some facts on what is happening: Within a 2km radius of the CBD there are over 20,000 new apartments either under construction or with development approval In this same radius (2km) there are a further 9,000 apartments seekin...

CoreLogic RP Data Home Value Index Release CoreLogic RP Data February Home Value Index results released today showed that Australia's combined capital cities have seen dwelling values rise by a further 0.3 per cent in February taking home values 8.3 per cent higher over the past twelve months. According to CoreLogic RP Data head of research Tim Lawless, dwelling values continued their upwards trajectory over the month of February by recording a 0.3 per cent gain over the month. This ...

It is without doubt that the Australian housing market has achieved significant, at times unprecedented, price growth in 2014.  As an overall, regional areas have also experienced a boost in price growth - albeit at a slower rate in comparison to capital cities. A question posed by property players (buyers, investors, and commentators alike) is whether or not such growth is sustainable (in particular Sydney); and if perhaps we are heading towards a property crash in the near future. ...

Median rents in Gladstone, Mackay and Mount Isa continued to fall in the December quarter 2014, according RTA median rent data. RTA data shows median rent for a 3 bedroom house in Gladstone dropped from $500 per week in the December quarter 2012 to $400 per week a year later down to $300 per week in the December quarter 2014. Over the same period weekly median rent for a 2 bedroom unit in Gladstone fell from $410 (2012) to $330 (2013) and down to $250 in 2014. In Mackay, the December...

Last week the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) released its housing and lending finance data for December 2014. The two series shed light on the level of activity by investors in the housing market at a national and state level, both of which show a continuing escalation in demand from this market segment. Housing finance data for December 2014 showed that over the month there was a record high $12.6 billion in investor housing finance commitments, up 6.0 per c...

Two-tiered housing market dynamics persisted over the first month of 2015, with strong gains recorded across Sydney and Melbourne, pushing capital city dwelling values 1.3 per cent higher. The January CoreLogic RP Data Home Value Index results showed capital city dwelling values rose by 1.3 per cent over the first month of the year, indicating a strong start for the housing market in 2015. While the headline reading is strong, overall housing market performance varied substantially betwe...

The cost of Sydney housing relative to other capital cities is widening and the cost of buying a house as opposed to a unit is increasing as a record number of units commence construction. According to median selling prices over the three months to December 2014 published in the CoreLogic RP Data Home Value Index report, the gap between capital city house and unit prices has never been greater. As at December 2014, the capital city median house price was almost 20% higher than the capital...