Hot Property: The week’s biggest stories

To compile this list, not only are we taking a look at the week’s most-read stories and the news that matters to you, but we are also curating it to include stories from our sister platforms that could have an impact on your investment journey.  

1. RBA reveals September cash rate

Despite some economic woes, the central bank has acted as most economists previously predicted, holding the official cash rate at 0.25 of a percentage point for the sixth straight month.

2. ‘Kick in the guts’: REIV slams rental moratorium extension

The REIV said it is seeing growing evidence that commercial and residential landlords are “being left behind and all but forgotten”.

“Tenants have been provided with substantial financial support from the government as well as mandated rent reductions at the expense of property owners. While residential property owners had steeled themselves for the six-month moratorium with compassion, empathy and a good dose of trepidation, this extension has been a ‘kick in the guts’… Of equal concern to the REIV is the disproportionate burden that is being asked of commercial property owners and their agents.”

3. Spring to see panic selling

Investors have been warned against panic selling, with Canstar’s finance expert, Steve Mickenbecker, saying it’s important for home owners not to succumb to pressure to put their home on the market.

“September is the turning point for many home owners and investors hoping to see the year out in better shape and avoid selling their property under duress,” Mr Mickenbecker said.

4. High-rise apartments lose their lustre

Propertyology’s Simon Pressley is predicting demand for inner-city apartments to significantly diminish in the future, as the “fried egg” town planning model falls out of favour with the workforce.

Given the intense restrictions COVID-19 has placed on both lifestyles and earning capacities, Mr Pressley has conceded that “before too long, there will be a big enough critical mass of people who will work and/or live at a different address to cause a structural shift in property markets”.

5. How to spot a cooling market

InvestorKit director Arjun Paliwal has said the first sign investors should watch out for is stock relevant to sales as a sign the market is cooling off: “If stock levels are rising faster than sales are occurring, it is a sign that there are too many listings coming on or not enough transactions in comparison to those listings. That’s the first sign.”

6. Calls mount for HomeBuilder reform

There are growing concerns that the utility of the HomeBuilder scheme is being undermined as the current structure is not giving lenders the confidence to accept the grant as funds to complete.

7. Brokers dominate FHLDS originations

Analysis by the National Housing Finance and Investment Corporation has revealed that mortgage brokers originated the largest share of First Home Loan Deposit Scheme placements (46.1 per cent) over the first six months of the scheme, followed by bank branches (38.4 per cent), mobile lenders (10.4 per cent) and “other” channels (5.1 per cent).

8. How this agent plans to shake up established agencies

Canadian-born Steven Kremer launched his own real estate agency, Kremer and Co, on 1 July, stating he was paying immediate dividends in a high-growth Brisbane area.

“This area has been undersold for a long period. You go across the highway from here to Kenmore or Chapel Hill and every listing is perfectly presented and well-advertised, so sale prices each month tend to go up and up and up there. It’s time to have the same here in the Centenary suburbs, too.”