housing industry

Housing affordability plunges

March 2, 2010 by admin

(SMH) Soaring house prices, rising interest rates and a winding back of the first homeowners grant all contributed to housing affordability taking a nose-dive at the end of 2009. The deterioration was widespread in all capital cities and regional areas, with the largest falls recorded in Sydney, Brisbane and Canberra, according to a Housing Industry Association (HIA)/Commonwealth Bank of Australia survey. read more

related: Hourly pay rates ex bonuses rose 0.6%

Housing affordability plunges

February 22, 2010 by admin

(SMH) Soaring house prices, rising interest rates and a winding back of the first homeowners grant all contributed to housing affordability taking a nose-dive at the end of 2009. The deterioration was widespread in all capital cities and regional areas, with the largest falls recorded in Sydney, Brisbane and Canberra, according to a Housing Industry Association (HIA)/Commonwealth Bank of Australia survey. The association is forecasting a moderate housing recovery in 2010 with about 152,000 dwelling starts. But that's still below the 190,000 required to keep pace with Australia's population growth. [..] "Without the required new home building to keep up with underlying requirements, house prices and rents are expected to continue pushing upwards through 2010," Mr [senior economist Ben] Phillips said. read more