Property Market & Interest Rates
March 2023 Update

• The Sydney market is showing signs of stabilising from it’s 12 month decline.
• Adelaide, Darwin & Perth have increased in value over the past 12 months, bucking the trend of other major capital cities.
• Median days of properties listed on market has doubled since November 2021.
• Increases in rent have rocketed since Feb 2020, up 10.2% through 2022.
• The monthly CPI indicator suggests that inflation has peaked in Australia. (A main indicator for the RBA on future rate rises).

• Global inflation remains very high. The outlook for the global economy remains subdued, with below average growth expected this year and next.
• The monthly CPI indicator suggests that inflation has peaked in Australia. Goods price inflation is expected to moderate over the months ahead due to both global developments and softer demand in Australia. Services price inflation remains high, with strong demand for some services over the summer.
• Rents are increasing at the fastest rate in some years, with vacancy rates low in many parts of the country.
• Household consumption growth has slowed due to the tighter financial conditions and the outlook for housing construction has softened. In contrast, the outlook for business investment remains positive, with many businesses operating at a very high level of capacity utilisation.
• The labour market remains very tight, although conditions have eased a little. The unemployment rate remains at close to a 50-year low. Employment fell in January, but this partly reflects changing seasonal patterns in labour hiring. Many firms continue to experience difficulty hiring workers, although some report a recent easing in labour shortages. As economic growth slows, unemployment is expected to increase.
• Wages growth is continuing to pick up in response to the tight labour market and higher inflation.
• The Board’s priority is to return inflation to target. High inflation makes life difficult for people and damages the functioning of the economy.

• We’ve had the opportunity to review and reduce interest rates for some of our Webb Financial clients. The reduction has ranged from 0.10-0.50% off current interest rates which makes a difference. Please contact me if you’d like a review, we are proactively making contact to offer a review.
• I’m seeing a high level of first home owners looking to enter the market via the first home guarantee scheme https://www.nhfic.gov.au/support-buy-home/first-home-guarantee, with the introduction of the annual property tax this makes owning your first home even more accessible.
• Further, I’m still seeing clients wanting to invest. A tight rental market and increased rent returns, plus a good buyers market can make it a good time to consider investing if it’s affordable.
• I am an advocate of buyers agents when investing, as you can see in the corelogic pack (attached), not all locations (cities, regional centres) are equal. An investment should be considered on financial metrics and a low level of emotional consideration. (unlike purchasing your home).