RBA

Home prices continue rising amid supply-demand mismatch

3 September

Australian home prices have clocked the fastest month of growth since May 2024, as a drop in building approvals clouds the outlook for housing affordability. The 0.7 per cent rise in August marks the seventh consecutive month of growth and lifts the...[Read More]

Real wages boost for workers, but costs might worry RBA

20 August

Workers have enjoyed the strongest annual growth in real wages in more than five years, but the Reserve Bank will be on alert in case labour costs cause inflation to fire up again. Wages grew by 3.4 per cent in the year to June, slightly above...[Read More]

Further rate cuts at risk as rent pushes up inflation

20 August

Rising construction costs and rental increases may prove to be stumbling blocks for further rate cuts from the Reserve Bank. The latest data from Cotality shows there are concerns for housing inflation and its knock-on effects off the back of rental...[Read More]

Rising cost to build a wake-up call on housing dream

23 July

A rise in construction costs is likely to stoke inflation while pushing home-building targets further out of reach, fresh data analysis suggests. Construction costs rose 0.5 per cent in the June quarter, picking up slightly from a 0.4 per cent rise...[Read More]

Spotlight on unemployment as jobs market loses heat

18 June

Signs the labour market is easing will alleviate Reserve Bank concerns about inflation with Australia’s jobless rate tipped to remain at historic lows. Economists predict labour force figures for May – to be released by the Australian Bureau of...[Read More]

Housing set to grow from record high as rate cuts loom

4 June

Home prices have hit new highs and will likely continue to grow as lower interest rates send buyers piling back into the property market amid a lack of new housing supply. The median dwelling in Australia was worth $831,288 in May – a 0.5 per cent...[Read More]

Rate cut could fuel further ‘modest’ house price growth

7 May

Australian home values have continued to soar and an expected post-election rate cut is likely to fuel further growth. Defying economic uncertainty caused by US President Donald Trump’s trade tariffs, the national median dwelling price rose 0.3...[Read More]

Rate cuts on horizon in mixed 2025 for the economy

1 January

Australians have endured taxing economic conditions in the past calendar year, but there is cause for cautious hope in 2025. Long-awaited interest rate cuts are broadly expected in the first half of the year, providing household budgets with...[Read More]

New building activity slows as rates bite

18 January

New home building starts have plummeted by more than 20 per cent in 12 months as labour and material shortages continue to weigh on the construction industry. New building activity fell further in the September quarter after softening moderately in...[Read More]

RBA hikes interest rates 25 basis points

2 November

The central bank has pulled the trigger on another 25 basis point rate rise and upgraded its peak inflation forecasts off the back of higher-than-expected inflation. The seventh hike in the Reserve Bank of Australia’s policy tightening cycle...[Read More]

RBA decision risks higher cash rate peak

5 October

The surprise slowdown in the pace of rate rises risks dragging out the rate hiking cycle and forcing the central bank to go even higher than expected to dampen demand. The Reserve Bank of Australia’s 0.25 percentage point lift is the sixth...[Read More]

Rate hikes could help home buyers: RBA

21 September

It takes around two years for elevated interest rates to dampen house prices enough to offset higher mortgage repayments, a senior RBA official says. Interest rate hikes diminish the amount buyers can borrow, which the Reserve Bank of...[Read More]

RBA’s ‘past decisions’ under scrutiny

14 September

A parliamentary committee will grill the head of the Reserve Bank over the central bank’s past decisions. Australian mortgage holders have endured five rate rises as the RBA seeks to bring inflation under control, with the central bank’s...[Read More]

Consumer spending slowdown starts to show