Daily Buzz: Wednesday, 8 May
By
PropertyBuzz, your daily dose of property news.
Real estate agents to assist in Money Laundering Crackdown, a $5,000 incentive for WA’s vacant property owners, and the RBA reveals the latest cash rate.
Welcome to Property Buzz! I’m Grace Ormsby. Today is Wednesday, the 8th of May.
– And Australia is working to combat money laundering in the property market by extending reporting requirements to high-risk professions, including real estate agents, lawyers, and accountants.
– The Attorney-General’s Department has begun the second stage of consultation on these reforms, which are a response to concerns about dirty money in the property market, particularly from Chinese interests.
– The proposed reforms would require property professionals to conduct due diligence on their customers’ identities and report any suspicious activity, such as large cash deposits or rapid buying and selling.
In an interesting development, the Western Australian government is introducing an incentive scheme to encourage owners of vacant properties to offer them as long-term rentals.
– Eligible property owners, whose properties have been vacant for at least six months, can receive a grant for entering into a minimum 12-month lease agreement.
– The initiative sets specific criteria for eligible properties, including a vacancy period of at least six months, being a single self-contained unit, and not previously benefitting from the Short-Term Rental Accommodation (STRA) Incentive Scheme, with a requirement to maintain the tenancy for the full lease term.
And finally, the Reserve Bank of Australia is keeping the cash rate on hold at 4.35 per cent, following on from yesterday’s board meeting.
– Despite high inflation driving further rate hike concerns, the RBA is adopting a ‘wait-and-see’ approach, with expectations of easing inflation as the economy adjusts to previous interest rate tightening.
That’s all for today.
See you again tomorrow, 09 May, for your daily dose of Property Buzz.
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