Brighter Buying

Market update: the budget, inflation and you

by Dan D'Silva, Property Consultant 3 November 2022

Politics and economics may seem like dry topics – until you want to buy or rent a house and you realise how much your hip pocket is hit by what happens in Canberra.

And in recent weeks, a lot has happened.

The Federal Government handed down its budget last month which had some big headlines for aspiring homeowners and renters.

A key headline grabber is the promise of 1 million new homes built over five years as part of a National Housing Accord agreed by government, the construction sector and institutional investors. This aims to increase the supply of housing to ease affordability pressures.

The Budget also reaffirmed a number of existing home ownership and affordable housing schemes, including the Help to Buy shared equity scheme and the Regional First Home Buyer Guarantee.

The other big news out of Canberra was the eye-watering annual inflation rate of 7.75 per cent.

This probably came as no surprise to Aussies already paying attention to eye-watering grocery bills, mortgage repayments and rental payments.

Those watering eyes are also watching the Reserve Bank and its interest rate movements. At its meeting this week, the RBA decided to increase the cash rate by 0.25 per cent to a nine year high of 2.85 per cent.

So what does it all mean for home owners, sellers and renters?

The adjustment from our record boom times in recent years is continuing. For renters and buyers, plan your budgets to allow for some future increases in mortgage or rent payments until things start to plateau again.

For sellers, plan for your sale to take a little longer and set realistic pricing expectations. Brisbane home values are still well above pre-pandemic levels, but we have seen some drop this year.

If you want some help to plan your next property move, contact us for a chat.