Property values have now clocked up their fifth straight month of growth with all the signs suggesting prices may accelerate with the prospect of more interest rate cuts before the end of the year. Nationally, monthly values increased 0.6% with bellwether markets Sydney (+0.6%) and Melbourne (+0.5%) both strengthening in terms of auction clearances. Darwin…
Read more
Construction costs appear to be climbing again as inflation continues to hamper new building projects and provides a sober reminder for renovators and buyers of new homes that your budget can get blown out of the water. Building materials became 0.5% more expensive in the June quarter, following an increase of 0.4% in the March…
Read more
Reading the tea leaves of today’s Kiwi property market is not an easy task. Sales are up, yet prices are flat. Record levels of inventory are starting to dwindle with a reported 5% fewer properties coming onto the market than 12 months ago. The Official Cash Rate (OCR) has dropped 2% since last September, but…
Read more
Owning a home is more affordable now than at any time in the past three years, according to analysis from the Royal Bank of Canada (RBC). A negligible drop in values – down 0.2% in June compared with May – combined with an aggressive campaign of interest rate cuts by the Bank of Canada (BoC)…
Read more
Confidence is returning to the Canadian real estate market with resales tracking 2.8% higher in June and values stable, just 0.2% lower. It’s the third successive month that we’ve seen resale data move upward, indicating that Canadians have put aside previous concerns about the economy, job security and the furore over American tariffs. All three…
Read more
Who doesn’t love the idea of selling your home for more than expected? No one, of course. But what are the features of a home that command a premium with today’s cautious buyers? The American aggregator Zillow loves to delve into its database and come up with answers to these types of questions. There’s no…
Read more
Is Canada’s real estate market really diverging into two separate camps – the urban centres that are supply-constrained and in high demand, and cities with too much to sell and too few buyers? Sitting in this latter camp are Toronto and Vancouver, which are our most expensive cities but suffering from oversupply and constrained spending…
Read more
The day you own your first home is joyous – finally you’re on the property ladder with a place of your very own and the opportunity to build your wealth. And after probably saving for years for your deposit, there should be no small measure of delighted relief that you’ve achieved your goal. Of course,…
Read more
With rental markets easing in many parts of Canada, investors cannot assume they’ll easily find a great tenant and the rental income will keep rolling in. Perhaps that’s true for some, but most investors need to work a little harder to find good and loyal tenants who’ll respect the property. A rental house or apartment…
Read more
Summer is a great time to enjoy the outdoors, and it’s also an opportune moment to assess how you feel about the interior of your home – is it really “doing it” for you? Is it time to step it up a notch? Interior design fashions come and go, and so it’s easy to think…
Read more
