PropertyBuzz, your daily dose of property news.
Western Australia’s best performing regional market, The impact of a December rate Hike on mortgage holders, and an Urgent Call out to Owners Corporations dealing with Serious Building Defects
Welcome to Property Buzz! I’m Grace Ormsby
Today is Friday, 24 November.
And Bunbury is booming! The regional city in Western Australia saw a 3.5 per cent increase in house prices in the three months to September 2023.
– The Real Estate Institute of WA said the median house price rose from $430,000 in June to $445,000 in September, with properties spending less time on the market, selling in a median of 15 days.
– Bunbury’s affordability, proximity to Perth, and lifestyle benefits are driving demand, along with employment opportunities and development in the area.
– Despite a double-digit increase in rents over the past year, the area’s rental rates are still significantly lower than those being seen elsewhere.
Turning attention now to next month’s rate decision, and if the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) raises interest rates next month, nearly one-third of mortgage holders will face financial stress, according to Roy Morgan.
– Over 1.5 million mortgage holders are currently at risk, with an additional 75,000 people expected to join them by January if rates increase again.
– Factors other than interest rates, such as household income, employment, and price increases, also contribute to mortgage stress. For instance, the average retail petrol price has been above $1.90 per litre for a record 15 weeks.
And honing in on dodgy buildings – and the New South Wales Building Commission is urging owners corporations to register for ‘Project Intervene’, a program addressing serious defects in recently completed residential apartment buildings.
– The program, which assists in fixing serious defects in common property areas at no cost and without litigation, covers defects such as waterproofing, fire safety systems, structural systems, and building services. It facilitates agreement on the defect list, ensures compliance, and timely completion of rectification works.
– The program is available to owners corporations of residential apartment buildings of four storeys or more, where an occupation certificate was issued within the previous ten years and there is an active developer. Registrations for the program closes on 30 November.
That’s all for today.
See you again tomorrow, 25 November, for your daily dose of Property Buzz.
If you like this episode, show your support by rating us or leaving a review on Apple Podcasts and by following Property Buzz on social media: YouTube, Instagram and TikTok.
![[audio src="http://traffic.libsyn.com/da9f679a-c371-4f14-9f87-dfdf3e8367c3/231121_-_PB_Wed.mp3"][/audio] PropertyBuzz, your daily dose of property news. Western Australia’s best performing regional market, The impact of a December rate Hike on mortgage holders, and an Urgent Call out to Owners Corporations dealing with Serious Building DefectsWelcome to Property Buzz! I’m Grace OrmsbyToday is Friday, 24 November.And Bunbury is booming! The regional city in Western Australia saw a 3.5 per cent increase in house prices in the three months to September 2023.- The Real Estate Institute of WA said the median house price rose from $430,000 in June to $445,000 in September, with properties spending less time on the market, selling in a median of 15 days.- Bunbury's affordability, proximity to Perth, and lifestyle benefits are driving demand, along with employment opportunities and development in the area.- Despite a double-digit increase in rents over the past year, the area’s rental rates are still significantly lower than those being seen elsewhere. Turning attention now to next month’s rate decision, and if the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) raises interest rates next month, nearly one-third of mortgage holders will face financial stress, according to Roy Morgan.- Over 1.5 million mortgage holders are currently at risk, with an additional 75,000 people expected to join them by January if rates increase again.- Factors other than interest rates, such as household income, employment, and price increases, also contribute to mortgage stress. For instance, the average retail petrol price has been above $1.90 per litre for a record 15 weeks.And honing in on dodgy buildings – and the New South Wales Building Commission is urging owners corporations to register for 'Project Intervene', a program addressing serious defects in recently completed residential apartment buildings.- The program, which assists in fixing serious defects in common property areas at no cost and without litigation, covers defects such as waterproofing, fire safety systems, structural systems, and building services. It facilitates agreement on the defect list, ensures compliance, and timely completion of rectification works.- The program is available to owners corporations of residential apartment buildings of four storeys or more, where an occupation certificate was issued within the previous ten years and there is an active developer. Registrations for the program closes on 30 November.That’s all for today.See you again tomorrow, 25 November, for your daily dose of Property Buzz If you like this episode, show your support by rating us or leaving a review on Apple Podcasts and by following Property Buzz on social media: YouTube, Instagram and TikTok.](https://propertybuzz.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Firefly-Aerial-photo-of-Western-Australia-houses-59269-150x150.webp)