More than 36% of properties have had asking price cut at least once — the highest figure since 2011
UK house sellers are cutting their asking prices at the fastest rate in more than a decade, after high interest rates dampened demand for property this summer.
The proportion of homes on the market which have had at least one price reduction is at its highest level since January 2011, the property website Rightmove has reported.
Continue reading...Weak consumer spending as, people – especially in Germany, the EU’s largest economy – put more into savings
Interest rates went up again across the eurozone on Thursday – probably for the last time during this cycle of hikes that has become a familiar story in the single currency bloc, as it has in the UK and US.
The European Central Bank (ECB) raised its main deposit rate by a quarter of one per cent to 4% – the highest level in the euro’s history.
Continue reading...Jump in borrowers unable to make payments with landlords particularly hit and ‘worse to come’
Mortgage arrears jumped by 13% in the second quarter of the year to the highest level since 2016, according to Bank of England figures that underscore the stress in the UK mortgage market.
Rising interest rates and unemployment over recent months have put pressure on household disposable incomes, forcing some families to cut or suspend their monthly mortgage payments.
Continue reading...Survey of businesses gives further indication that Bank of England could limit future interest rate rises
Businesses are pulling back on hiring and slowing their output under the strain of rising borrowing costs, according to a study that gives a further signal that the Bank of England could limit future interest rate rises.
A modest pickup in manufacturing in August failed to prevent a slowdown in broader UK private sector economic activity, a survey of businesses by the accountancy firm BDO found.
Continue reading...Australia’s economy might be just where Philip Lowe wants it – barring any nasty surprise – as he hands over to Michele Bullock
As two of Australia’s more contentious figures Philip Lowe and Alan Joyce head towards their gilded departure lounges, the economy seems set in a holding pattern with improving prospects of a desired soft landing.
To be sure, a happy outcome of a jobless rate remaining within cooee of 4%, wages finally catching if not outpacing inflation, and even the federal budget staying in the black a bit longer is far from assured.
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The corporate regulator is suing Westpac after it allegedly failed to appropriately respond to hundreds of financial hardship requests from bank customers.
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (Asic) said in a statement on Tuesday it had started civil proceedings in the federal court seeking financial penalties to be imposed on the major bank.
All of these customers told Westpac they were experiencing financial hardship.
Many of these customers also told Westpac about their difficult circumstances and vulnerabilities, including their inability to work, the impacts of serious medical conditions or their carer responsibilities.
This error meant we didn’t provide some of our customers with the help they needed. For this, we are deeply sorry.
The broader picture here is the we’re seeing big corporations at the moment making record profits off the back of everyday people, these big corporations line up to public handouts when the going gets tough and then when they get back into a more healthy situation, they just pocket the profits and they pass the costs on to everyday people and we think it’s time to say enough is enough and it’s time for these big corporations [to be] made to act in the public interest and that’s government’s job.
Continue reading...New report shows housing affordability has reached its lowest levels in decades as market continues to rebound
Rising interest rates and surging home prices have seen Australian housing affordability crash to its lowest levels in decades, according to a new report.
A household earning the median income of $105,000 can now only comfortably afford 13% of homes on the market, the lowest share since the relevant data was first collected in 1995, according to property data company PropTrack.
Continue reading...August 5.3% drop comes as sales completions down by about 40% in first half of year compared with 2021
UK house prices fell 5.3% in August compared with the same month last year, the fastest annual drop in 14 years, according to Nationwide Building Society.
The lender said the fall, which was the biggest since July 2009, when the global economy was in the depths of the financial crisis, was driven by soaring mortgage costs, which are putting off potential buyers. Average house prices are more than £14,500 lower than they were a year ago and mortgage approvals have plummeted by a fifth compared with pre-pandemic levels.
Continue reading...Huw Pill says he prefers longer, more steady use of interest rates of Table Mountain model over sharp rise and fall of Matterhorn approach
Tourist attraction, backdrop to millions of selfies and one of the world’s most easily identifiable landmarks. Cape Town’s Table Mountain is all of these things, but now it has found a new role: as a guide to what will happen to UK interest rates.
For Huw Pill the opportunity was too good to pass up. Invited by South Africa’s central bank to speak at a high-level conference, the Bank of England’s chief economist said there were two ways for Threadneedle Street to bring UK inflation back to the government’s 2% target.
Continue reading...Minutes from the Reserve Bank’s August meeting show the board considered lifting the cash rate to 4.35% but decided to allow more time to look at economic data
Slowing economic growth helping to drag inflation down and a recognition that some households faced “acute financial challenges” were among the reasons the Reserve Bank left interest rates on hold earlier this month.
Minutes from the RBA’s August meeting, released on Tuesday, showed the board viewed the risks facing the economy as “broadly balanced” between allowing inflation to remain too high for too long or slowing the economy too hard.
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Continue reading...Economic experts say it will take until third quarter of 2024 for output to return to pre-pandemic peak
Rishi Sunak will fight the next election against a backdrop of an economy suffering from five years of lost growth and a widening of the gap between the prosperous and less well off parts of Britain, a leading thinktank said on Wednesday.
The National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR) said it would take until the third quarter of 2024 for UK output to return to its pre-pandemic peak and that there was a 60% risk of the government going to the polls during a recession.
Continue reading...Proceeds from levy on interest rate income will be used to help mortgage holders and cut taxes
Italy has announced a one-off 40% windfall tax on local banks that have been accused of reaping billions in extra profit from rising interest rates.
The Italian government, which approved the surprise tax in a cabinet meeting on Monday night, said it planned to use the proceeds to support mortgage holders and cut taxes, at a time when rising rates have put extra pressure on households.
Continue reading...Rise to 5.25% comes as no surprise but Bank of England’s language will frighten many
If it isn’t hurting it isn’t working. That was the message from John Major, then chancellor, in 1989 during a previous period when interest rates were being used to combat high inflation. And it was the message rammed home by the Bank of England on Thursday.
Any hard-pressed households or struggling business looking for comfort from Threadneedle Street would have been disappointed by news that the pain will continue and is likely to intensify. Interest rates may not yet have peaked.
Continue reading...Policymakers vote for quarter-point rise to 5.25% – the 14th hike in a row – but BoE rules out prospect of recession
The Bank of England has warned businesses and households that the cost of borrowing will remain high for at least the next two years as it raised interest rates for the 14th consecutive time to 5.25%.
Ruling out the likelihood of a recession over the next two years, policymakers blamed strong wages growth in recent months for the need to increase interest rates by 0.25 percentage points to the highest level for 15 years.
Continue reading...Unions say widespread job losses in recent months have left UK ‘teetering on the brink of recession’
The TUC has urged the Bank of England to call a halt to interest rate increases after warning that widespread job losses in recent months have left the UK “teetering on the brink of recession”.
Employment had fallen in more than half of Britain’s 20 industrial sectors in the three months to June, the union body said as it predicted a fresh increase in the cost of borrowing would put tens of thousands more livelihoods at risk.
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RFS predicts severe bushfire season to come
Firefighters are scrambling to catch up on bushfire preparations as NSW braces for a hot summer, AAP reports.
The No 1 factor for that not going ahead was the weather conditions, the rain, the flooding, that’s meant the crews weren’t able to get out and do that important work in communities.
There is plenty more to be done and this boost in mitigation personnel will enable even more vital work to be undertaken.
This is a tragedy. Our thoughts are with the family and friends of the Australian Defence Force personnel on board. All were from the 6th Aviation Regiment based at Holsworthy army barracks in Sydney and valuable members of our community.
Our thoughts are also with those who served alongside these four young men – their friends and colleagues in uniform – and the broader defence community.
Continue reading...Many cash purchases were made in regional areas of NSW, Victoria and Queensland as buyers downsized to less expensive housing
More than one in four transactions for dwellings or land is settled with cash in Australia’s three most-populous states, with buyers largely unaffected by higher interest rates, data group Pexa said.
Many of the cash purchases (those paid for in full without a loan) were made in regional parts of New South Wales, Queensland and Victoria, often by retirees or others downsizing to less expensive properties. Cash purchases for foreign students or recent migrants also make up a sizeable share of sales in inner-city areas.
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Continue reading...Domain data shows fastest national rise since late 2021 and all capitals bar Canberra in recovery mode
Australia’s home price rebound quickened in the June quarter, lifting house values at the fastest rate since late 2021. For Sydney, median house prices rose $500 a day during the first half of 2023, returning to “hyper-growth”, Domain said.
Since last December’s nadir, house prices across capital cities have risen $34,000, or 3.4%, clawing back slightly more than the $60,000 lost during 2022.
Continue reading...US Fed will also have to raise rates more aggressively than forecast, says Washington-based body
Interest rates in the UK will need to stay higher for longer than previously forecast in order to tackle stubbornly high inflation, the International Monetary Fund has warned.
The IMF’s regular update on the state of the global economy singled out the US Federal Reserve and the Bank of England as two central banks that will need to raise official borrowing costs more aggressively than it assumed only three months ago.
Continue reading...Government-backed NS&I increases its rates, as building societies and banks launch better deals
Amid the mortgage misery, there was more good news this week on savings rates, with a growing number of accounts now paying 6%-plus interest.
Meanwhile, the government-backed NS&I – a favourite of many in these uncertain times – has upped the rates on some of its popular fixed-rate accounts.
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