One of Australia’s leading economists has forecast a positive spring selling season – in part due to a sharp decline in household savings. “With savings rates now plummeting, what does this mean for property?” Ray White Chief Economist Nerida Conisbee said. “With retail trade falling for the third straight quarter, savings rates plummeting and inflation … Read more
Employers will have to pay higher wages to workers on award wages and the National Minimum Wage (NMW), following a review by the Fair Work Commission. As of 1 July 2023, award wages will increase by 5.75%, while the NMW – which applies to employees who aren’t covered by an award or registered agreement – … Read more
The Reserve Bank of Australia has rounded out 2023 with the decision to hold the nation’s cash rate at 4.35%. 2023 hasn’t been an easy year for homeowners or ambitious first-home buyers. The cash rate increased from 3.10% to 4.35% over the course of eleven months in the RBA’s bid to bring inflation back within … Read more
From 1 July, two entitlements – Parental Leave Pay and Dad and Partner Pay – will be combined into one payment. That means the current entitlement to 18 weeks’ paid parental leave pay will be combined with the current Dad and Partner Pay entitlement to two weeks’ pay. As a result, partnered couples will be … Read more
Just as employers are dreaming up perks to lure staff back into the office, office landlords are offering incentives to attract businesses to their premises. Ray White Commercial Head of Research Vanessa Rader said the incentives range from drinks and discount food to pilates sessions and special events, and have proved effective. “Post COVID-19 we … Read more
If you’ve been hearing lots of stories about people refinancing their home loans in search of lower interest rates, there’s a very good reason. Refinancing is at record levels, according to data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics. Borrowers refinanced $19.9 billion of mortgages in February – 22.6% higher than the year before, when refinancing … Read more
Consumers are confidently snapping up new vehicles, and while they continue to gravitate towards the biggest brands, they’re also showing increasing interest in greener vehicles. A total of 269,002 new vehicles were sold in the first three months of 2023, which was 2.5% more than the first quarter of 2022, according to the Federal Chamber … Read more
Australia’s consumer watchdog has sounded the alarm about sophisticated bank impersonation scams that have claimed a number of peoples’ life savings. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) said scammers were using new technology to trick their victims. This included: Making calls appear to come from a bank’s legitimate phone number. Sending text messages that … Read more
In today’s meeting, the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) decided to hold the cash rate for the first time since they started rising in May 2022. The cash rate remains at 3.6%. This could provide some reprieve to households that have experienced regular hikes to their interest rates over the last 12 months. It has … Read more
Global property group CBRE has forecast a “rent-a-demic” for Australia’s industrial & logistics (I&L) sector. The main reason is that the I&L national vacancy rate is just 0.6% – the lowest in the world – which should lead to strong rental growth in most capital cities in 2023. “This is being propelled by the fact … Read more
