HomeMate.com.au

New home sales have slowed again in late December and early January in most States, and the housing market is off to a poor start in 2012 The Housing Industry Association [HIA], reports that house contracts sales have fallen in December 2011 and January 2012, a survey of Australia’s 100 largest builders shows a decline [...]

As new home buyers sit on the side lines waiting to see what Federal and State Governments do next about housing affordability, home builders are feeling the pinch as the construction industry slump reaches it first birthday. I don’t buy that interest rates are too high. Interest rates are normal. The problem is that new [...]

The Reserve Bank of Australia Board meets today to decide the fate of homeowners home loan rates, and whether to raise interest rates, or to leave them alone. Our tip is that homeowners and home buyers are safe. The RBA will not raise the official cash rate till the picture of the Australian and World [...]

Australian Bureau of Statistics [ABS] show that the number of new dwelling being constructed fell by 5.3 per cent in the fourth quarter, 4 times worse than economists were expecting. Single dwelling new homes were hit hardest. So it was felt as lower construction loans with mortgage brokers and banks everywhere. But that does not explain the reason for the new home construction slide.
That was after a fall of 13 per cent in home construction of all types in the September quarter. Victoria and South Australia recorded the most significant falls, but Queensland is hurting more right now.

In the last ten weeks 72 out of 73 of Queensland’s Local Government areas have been flood affected. Over 70% of QLD went under water at some stage in that period. A “Back Swan Event” for QLD?
In that period many areas have been flooded twice, some areas have been hit with an inland tsunami, with small towns completely washed away. Then we had Cyclone Yasi. Then the Christchurch earthquakes hit our New Zealand cousins hard, with many Kiwis living in Queensland having friends and relatives in Chrischurch. Then we hear and see Japan hit by earthquakes and tsunami that may well be Japans worst natural disaster ever. This will also affect new home buyers.

I was sitting in my Display home sales office at Waterford in late February 2011, surveying the empty visitors parking lots. It had been this way in January before the floods. [Everything right except the "sales" part.]

Stocklands offer house and land packages to make owning that new home easier today Queensland’s largest residential land developer has announced incentives to buy land. It hopes to bring new home buyers into the market sooner to take up the slack of recent sales drop off last year. One thing that I have noticed is [...]