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Aussies expect mortgage rates will keep rising

Despite most economists predicting the Reserve Bank board will leave rates on hold at today's board meeting, many Australians expect mortgage rates will rise this year, and are considering switching to fixed rate loans.

Victoria (Vic.)Melbourne

Featured Property

Historic Hawthorn East estate 'Talana' for sale

The grand, historic manor 'Talana' sits on a 4,198sqm block in Hawthorn East and is for sale through agents Glen Coutinho and Annabelle Feng of RT Edgar Boroondara.

National

The Economy

Revised auction clearance rate one of the lowest this year

But Gil King, the CEO of the REIV, told SCHWARTZWILLIAMS that last week auction volumes and sales in Victoria were ahead of those for the same period last year.

National

Politics

Capital gains withholding tax too low for foreign residents says REIA

The threshold for foreign-resident capital gains tax withholding has been reduced to an unnecessarily low level, subjecting agents and conveyancers to additional red tape and costs for no good reason, says Malcolm Gunning of the REIA.

International

People

Obamas buy their Washington rental

Barack and Michelle Obama have paid US$8.1 million (just over AU$10 million) for the Kalorama, Washington, home they have been living in since January.

Victoria (Vic.)

Featured Property

A Mount Eliza home with private beach access is for sale

Designed by architects Macnaughtan & Lumley, this contemporary home is for sale by Marc Jacob and Janine Lum of Unique Estates Australia.

New South Wales (NSW)

Politics

NSW moves a "great first step" to improve affordability: REINSW

John Cunningham, president of the REINSW, says the state government's moves to help first-home buyers are welcome "first steps" to address housing affordability pressures in NSW.

New South Wales (NSW)Sydney

Construction

Sydney penthouse sells for $17 million

The $17m sale of a penthouse in the Loftus Lane development at Sydney's Circular Quay shows harbourfront real estate has entered a new league. The agent was Justin Brown of CBRE.

New South Wales (NSW)

People

Tahnee Barnes: LJ Hooker's Million Dollar Intern

Tahnee Barnes, a former soldier who spent time in Afghanistan and East Timor, has beaten almost 200 candidates to win a three-month internship with Bill Malouf of LJ Hooker Double Bay.

New South Wales (NSW)

Featured Property

A modern Port Macquarie beach house with ocean views is for sale

This home in prestigious Lighthouse Beach with hinterland and ocean views is for sale through Ron Fischer of First National Port Macquarie.

Pages

News Roundup

http://www.afr.com/p/business/property/stockland_mooted_as_potential_bidder_Y9AyVTMNfmSWwh2Nch88FK

Stockland could make a play for Novion

Credit Suisse believes that Stockland could make a cash and scrip offer for Novion Property Group, blocking the latter's proposed merger with Federation Centres. A combined Novion-Federation Centres would boast a retail property portfolio worth $22 billion, while Stockland owns some $5.7 billion worth of retail assets.

The Australian Financial Review

http://www.afr.com/p/business/companies/leighton_holdings_delivers_project_ZMiljrBzgb6bhslc3sl88M

Leighton Holdings delivers big profit

Australian construction group Leighton Holdings has posted a net profit of $A676.5m for the 2014 calendar year, which is 33 per cent higher than previously. The group expects its net profit for 2015 to be within the range of $450 million and $520 million.

The Australian Financial Review

http://www.mortgagebusiness.com.au/breaking-news/8157-cba-flexes-its-tech-muscles?utm_source=Mortgage%20Business&utm_campaign=Mortgage_Business_Newsletter12_02_2015&utm_medium=email

CBA flexes tech muscle

Australia’s biggest bank emphasised technology and digital platforms are a key point of difference when it announced its half-yearly profit results yesterday.The lender posted a statutory NPAT of $4.5 billion, up 8 per cent, and a cash NPAT of $4.6 billion – also up 8 per cent, in the six months to 31 December 2014.

Mortgage Business

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/wall-street-journal/dubais-real-estate-moguls-bet-on-another-property-boom/story-fnay3ubk-1227216461238

Another boom for Dubai?

Dubai’s real estate moguls are betting on another property boom. Many property magnates are back building weird, wonderful and some say wildly over-ambitious projects in another go-go era for the city.

The Australian

http://www.theguardian.com/money/2015/feb/11/tsb-10-year-fixed-rate-mortgage

Mortgage deal to attract first home owners

An English bank is offering a 10-year fixed-rate mortgage aimed at customers who have only 5% of the purchase price to put down as a deposit. The lender said borrowers would be able to lock in to a rate of 5.69% until 2025 at a loan to value of up to 95% of their property’s price. It is the only 10-year fix at that level in the UK.

The Guardian

http://www.businessinsider.com.au/13-real-estate-tips-from-zillow-ceo-spencer-rascoff-2015-2

Real Estate by the book

U.S. real-estate website Zillow has been collecting information about the residential real estate market for a decade, and has taken what it’s learned and put it into a book with advice on buying and selling homes. It's called “Zillow Talk: The New Rules of Real Estate” by Zillow CEO Spencer Rascoff and chief economist Stan Humphries.

Business Insider Australia

http://www.afr.com/p/business/companies/stockland_first_half_profit_rises_xgI6HcX0ydrA67iItuO6WN

Housing boom a win for Stockland

Australia's biggest diversified property group, Stockland, said its first-half underlying profit rose 8.5 per cent to $290 million from $267 million in the year-earlier period. "Our residential business was a standout performer in the first half, with substantially increased sales across a number of the markets in which we operate," said managing director Mark Steinert.

The Australian Financial Review

http://www.smh.com.au/business/property/housing-boom-tipped-to-get-bubbly-as-mortgage-rates-fall-20150210-13aftd.html

House prices rise

Economists are talking of a Sydney housing bubble as mortgage rates fall to all-time lows and Australian Bureau of Statistics data released yesterday showed house prices in Australia's capital cities continued to rise in the December 2014 quarter. Sydney prices rose another 3.4 per cent, while Brisbane and Melbourne recorded 1.4 per cent and 1.3 per cent growth respectively.

The Sydney Morning Herald