Property

The surge in house prices over the past year has put women on the back foot, according to new CoreLogic research.

Housing affordability kept declining through the December quarter, with research finding borrowers had to use 37 per cent of their income to meet loan repayments.

The major bank’s latest spending intention figures reveal a monthly surge in property ownership ambitions, yet it still remains down from last year.

Researchers have suggested contradictory government policies and surging house prices have locked out younger Australians from the property market.

The major banks’ economists have tipped national house prices will plateau over 2022, after the property boom slowed through February.

The increase marks the only weekly growth for an Australian capital, yet the city’s figure remains down from this time last year.

Digital home deposit platform Deposit Assure has donated to the Red Cross emergency fund for communities hit by the Queensland and NSW floods. 

Approved residential construction has hit its lowest monthly figure since June 2020, driven largely by a shortage in units, town houses and apartments.

After almost two years of significant housing value growth, every capital city and broad “rest of state” region is trending downwards, according to the latest data.

Despite the interest rate holding steady in 2021, a record number of property owners refinanced, driven by market uncertainty, according to PEXA.