Australian Property

Via S&P: Australian mortgage arrears fell 7% year on year to 1.07% in December, according to a recent report by S&P Global Ratings.

Via Moody’s: APRA’s proposed changes to capital framework are credit positive for Australian banks The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority’s (APRA) proposed revisions to its capital framework for authorized deposit taking institutions (ADIs) are credit positive for the sector because they will improve the alignment of capital and asset risk in ADI loan portfolios.

Oh dear: It’s in a trading halt owing to “a pending announcement regarding recent media comment in relation to Mr McGrath” so not sure what the market makes of it.

Crazy stuff today from Gottiboff: We have achieved a significant breakthrough in the troubled inner city apartment markets of Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne.

Via Deutsche economist Adam Boyton at the AFR: A period of steady or falling house prices will slowly (and the emphasis here is on slowly) help those trying to break into the market.

By Leith van Onselen The Australian Prudential Regulatory Authority (APRA) has today released a discussion paper, which finally acknowledges that the systemic concentration of Authorised Deposit-Taking (ADI) portfolios in residential mortgages poses a problem.

By Leith van Onselen Data from CoreLogic shows that the median house price in the Queensland mining town of Moranbah has risen by 22% over the past year after crashing by more than 50%.

By Leith van Onselen With the release yesterday of the ABS’ landing finance data for December, it is an opportune time to once again plot CoreLogic’s dwelling price series against the total value of finance commitments (excluding refinancings) as measured by the ABS.

By Leith van Onselen Australia’s speculator frenzy has continued to moderate, according to today’s Lending Finance data for December, released by the ABS. As shown below, the annual value of investor loans in New South Wales (read Sydney) continues to fall, whereas Victoria (read Melbourne) has also moderated.

By Leith van Onselen CoreLogic has released its latest Mapping the Market Report, which once again illustrates the shocking disappearance of affordable housing across Sydney and Melbourne.

Via The Australian: Investors continue to flee founder, 26 per cent shareholder and Lionel Richie fan John McGrath’s real estate outfit, which yesterday fell almost 6 per cent to a record low of 42c.

Via CoreLogic: Too early in the year to be definitive yet but the leading index appears solidly down year on year still and listings are up just as solidly.

By Leith van Onselen Two of the big banks have today been accused of gouging first home buyers (FHBs) with mortgage protection insurance, according to analysis by Life­compare.

By Leith van Onselen In last year’s NSW State Budget, the Berejiklian Government eliminated stamp duty for first home buyers (FHBs) purchasing a new or existing home valued up to $650,000, whereas discounts were offered to FHBs for purchases valued between $650,000 and $800,000.

The latest videos from Mr IQ are a marvelous insight into the turmoil engulfing Australia’s specufestor class as property prices fall.

By Leith van Onselen The Economist has released its quarterly interactive guide to housing data across the world, which notes the following: FINANCIAL media focus most of their attention on stocks and bonds, but the world’s biggest asset class is actually residential property.

CoreLogic released its auction report yesterday, which reported a stable preliminary national auction clearance rate at 67.7% – exactly the same as last weekend but significantly below the 73.2% in the same weekend last year: However, as you can see above, the trend clearance rate has bounced.