From Chris Joye today:
The great Australian housing boom might be grinding to a stand-still thanks to the banks’ out-of-cycle rate hikes—correcting the two misguided official cuts in 2016—and tough new “macroprudential” constraints on interest-only lending imposed by the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA).
According to CoreLogic home values across Australia’s five largest capital cities have appreciated only 0.3 per cent between 20 March and 20 April 2017, less than one-third the average 1 per cent monthly capital growth rate over the preceding 6 months. The nation’s investment mecca, Sydney, has fared worst among the capitals—setting aside the west coast property pot-hole—with dwelling values flat over the last 30 days. This is a welcome contrast to the crazy 14 per cent growth rate that has on average asserted since October 2016.
