RBA still concerned about housing market
The February report from the Reserve Bank of Australia shows that it is still concerned about the housing market, particularly Sydney and Melbourne. The minutes of the central bank’s meeting show that the recent interest rate cut was mostly in response to weak economic conditions, however it was also concerned that despite some moderation in house prices the two hottest markets were still appreciating faster than incomes. It also highlighted the level of lending for residential housing to investors compared to owner-occupiers. The bank noted that it would keep a close monitor on the housing market.
Source: Sky News
 
Sydney prices up 2.1 per cent already this year
Home prices in Sydney are already 2.1 per cent higher now than they were at the start of the year. CoreLogic RP Data shows that the median price in the city is now $745,000 for a house and $575,000 for a unit. Although last week’s price rise was just 0.1 per cent CoreLogic’s Robert Larocca told news.com.au that the Sydney market is showing no signs of weakness and is being boosted by the auctions.
Source: news.com.au
 
Super rich love Sydney and Melbourne
The world’s super-rich love buying property in Sydney and Melbourne according to a new report from realtors Knight Frank. The study found that New York and Aspen top the list of 100 global locations favored by the wealthiest investors but Sydney and Melbourne also make the top 25 at numbers 13 and 21 respectively. To be considered wealthy for this poll buyers need at least U$30 million in assets and their spending power pushed up prices of luxury homes by 11 per cent in Sydney and 8.5 per cent in Melbourne for the 12 months to December 2014. Elsewhere in Asia-Pac Jakarta (number 12), Auckland (11) and Bali were the only cities to beat Sydney.  See the top 100.
Source: Wall Street Journal
 
Harry Potter and the real estate sale
No it’s not the title of a newly released wizard classic but news that Harry Potter actor Daniel Radcliffe is selling his apartment in Toorak, Melbourne bought by his parents a decade ago. Alan Radcliffe and Marie Gresham bought the St George’s Road apartment in 2005 after apparently falling in love with Australia, and Melbourne in particular, while their son was filming there. The actor was given the home on his 18th birthday and has used it as a base when visiting Australia but has now decided it’s the right time to sell. The sell is being handled by Marcus Chiminello and Nicole French of Marshall White and is listed at $2.5 million representing a $600,000 profit on the Radcliffe’s purchase price.
Source: The Domain Group

 

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