http://www.hotspotting.com.au/ Hotspotting: Finding Tomorrow's HOT Property Locations Today en-us http://www.hotspotting.com.au/index.php?act=viewArticle&productId=2280 http://www.hotspotting.com.au/index.php?act=viewArticle&productId=2280 The extraordinary ability of economists to collectively get in wrong most of the time has again been demonstrated, with the Reserve Bank deciding at its meeting today to keep interest rates on hold. Most economists had bet the Reserve Bank would cut rates by 0.25 percentage points, apparently convinced that worries about the economic situation in Europe wou Tue, 7 Feb 2012 12:00:00 +1000 http://www.hotspotting.com.au/index.php?act=viewArticle&productId=2279 http://www.hotspotting.com.au/index.php?act=viewArticle&productId=2279 American analysts have an unnatural obsession with our real estate prices. There’s a growing list of US evangelists presenting themselves as experts on our property markets – from a distance of around 15,000km. It appears anyone suffering from limelight deficit syndrome can create a bit of profile by declaring Australia has the world&am Wed, 1 Feb 2012 12:00:00 +1000 http://www.hotspotting.com.au/index.php?act=viewArticle&productId=2278 http://www.hotspotting.com.au/index.php?act=viewArticle&productId=2278 The decline in prices in Australia’s capital cities has pretty much bottomed, based on data for the December Quarter from various research sources. The Australian Bureau of Statistics today published its House Price Indexes for the December Quarter, recording a 1% quarterly decline as the weighted average across the eight capital cities. RP Data Wed, 1 Feb 2012 12:00:00 +1000 http://www.hotspotting.com.au/index.php?act=viewArticle&productId=2277 http://www.hotspotting.com.au/index.php?act=viewArticle&productId=2277 Queensland has just announced an extension of its Building Boost Grant scheme – not because it’s working well, but because it isn’t.So few people have taken up the $10,000 grants to build new homes that there’s lots of unused money, so the State Government is extending the scheme - originally scheduled to expire on 31 Sat, 28 Jan 2012 12:00:00 +1000 http://www.hotspotting.com.au/index.php?act=viewArticle&productId=2276 http://www.hotspotting.com.au/index.php?act=viewArticle&productId=2276 My last column for 2011 analysed “the Year of the Furphy”. Fittingly, the year ended with publication of a report that advanced one of great furphies of Australian real estate, the housing shortage.The National Housing Supply Council published its 2011 State of Supply report just before Christmas - which claimed, yet again, that we&rs Thu, 26 Jan 2012 12:00:00 +1000 http://www.hotspotting.com.au/index.php?act=viewArticle&productId=2275 http://www.hotspotting.com.au/index.php?act=viewArticle&productId=2275 Australia’s mortgage market is gearing for a busier year, a new analysis by financial comparison site RateCity suggests, confirming my expectation of a stronger and brigher year in real estate. Lower property prices, two interest rate cuts and “aggressive discounting” by lenders combine to indicate growth in 2012, RateCity says Thu, 26 Jan 2012 12:00:00 +1000 http://www.hotspotting.com.au/index.php?act=viewArticle&productId=2274 http://www.hotspotting.com.au/index.php?act=viewArticle&productId=2274 This Missive is likely to get me shot, and mostly likely with both barrels - but the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games is likely to do more damage than good. It is an absolute waste of money and diverts attention away from the things that really need doing. But that, of course, is part of the Government’s plan.  Since the birth of Christ Wed, 25 Jan 2012 12:00:00 +1000 http://www.hotspotting.com.au/index.php?act=viewArticle&productId=2273 http://www.hotspotting.com.au/index.php?act=viewArticle&productId=2273 The economic phase Australia is entering is being described as a resources boom. I believe this is wrong. The term “boom” implies a relatively short, sharp upturn to be followed by an inevitable bust. I believe we’re seeing long-term structural change, one in which Australia is the world’s major source of the resources Sat, 21 Jan 2012 12:00:00 +1000 http://www.hotspotting.com.au/index.php?act=viewArticle&productId=2272 http://www.hotspotting.com.au/index.php?act=viewArticle&productId=2272 A major increase in the number of first-home buyers has added to other evidence of improving prospects for property markets around Australia. The number of first-home buyers increased 18% in November compared to October – adding $2.86 billion in mortgage activity, the largest volume since December 2009. Other evidence of an improving market inclu Fri, 20 Jan 2012 12:00:00 +1000