Australia and Britain lead global house price rises over 3 decades
Australian homes have risen in price faster than every other country in the world except Britain. The revelation comes in a new report from real estate firm CBRE which charts the performance of the property market in cities all over the world. Over a 30-year period, prices in Australia have increased 221.4 per cent; UK prices rose 231.9 per cent. In contrast the US market has seen price rises of just 53.2 per cent; mainland Europe’s biggest economy Germany has seen prices decline 7.8 per cent over the period; Japan is down 14.5 per cent. Population growth, immigration and under-supply of housing are all factors in the Australian price rises. The report also ranks Sydney as the fourth most expensive city for apartments behind London, New York and Hong Kong.
 
CBA heads for $10 billion in profits; lenders warned to maintain standards
The Commonwealth Bank is on target to be the first Australian bank to break the $10 billion profit mark having announced $2.3 billion for the September quarter. While CBA’s $450 billion mortgage book is considered to be pretty strong and its costs for bad debt were lower in the latest results, the regulator has warned home loan lenders that they too must maintain standards in their lending. With concern about a bubble in Sydney and Melbourne, the Prudential Regulation Authority has flagged up some high risk lending.
 
Homeowners rewarded for saving water
Victorian homeowners will be rewarded for demonstrating water efficiency for longer with the extension of the state’s Water Rebate Program through to the end of June 2015. Along with national schemes, the program offers rebates and grants for those homeowners who choose toilets, hot water systems and home appliances that use water more efficiently. With the rebates and efficiency savings over the lifetime of products making environmentally friendly products can be worth thousands of dollars.
 

Collections: