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The Federal Budget was supposed to be the
most important economic report released this week however, from a
property market perspective it delivered very little. The only points
of note affecting the housing market were: the skilled migration target
has been revised upwards to 185,000 (from 168,700 the year before) and
mostly focused on regional areas where workers are desperately
required, $6 billion allocated to a regional infrastructure fund - most
of this will be directed towards projects in Queensland and Western
Australia to support the resources sector, and the 'Housing and
Community Amenities' provision in the budget has been cut by $1.1b
reflecting the conclusion of the housing initiatives introduced as part
of the Government's response to the global financial crisis. Perhaps
most notable is that there was no mention of changes to tax
implications for property investors, specifically negative gearing and
there was no plan to address housing affordability.
Building approvals data for March 2011 was released by the ABS late
last week. Over the month there was a significant bounce in building
approvals, increasing by 9.1% which was a big reversal from the -10.1%
fall in January and a further -5.3% fall in February. On an annual
basis, total building approvals were -18.1% lower in March 2011 than
they were in March 2010. Focusing on private sector house and unit
approvals, house approvals were -0.8% lower over the month and -17.8%
lower over the year. Unit approvals recorded at 26.1% increase over the
month and are 11.9% higher over the year. Despite the positive result for
March, building approvals continue to trend in the wrong direction.
Advertised Stock on the Market
 The number of new
properties advertised for sale has recorded a large fall over the week,
down -9.6%. Despite the fall, new listings remain at above average
levels and are 13.4% higher than they were at the same time last year.
New listings have been trending lower across the combined capital
cities since mid March and fell by-3.7% last week to their lowest level
since early February of this year. The total number of properties
advertised for sale increased by 0.6% nationally last week and they are
29.3% higher than at the same time last year. Although total listings
increased nationally, in the capital cities listings fell by -0.7% and
are at their lowest level since mid May.
Latest National Auction Clearance Rates
 The weighted average
capital city auction clearance rate was recorded at 50.6% last week, up
from 45.1% the previous week. Despite the improvement, clearance rates
remain at low levels especially when you consider that during the same
week last year clearance rates were recorded at 63.5%. In Melbourne,
clearance rates improved to 57.1% from 49.3% the week previous. Sydney's auction
clearance rates improved from 48.4% the previous week to 52.8% last
week.
Number of Properties Advertised for Rent
 New rental
advertisements increased by 1.9% nationally last week and by 2.8%
across the capital cities. Nationally, rental listings are 2.8% higher
than at the same time last year and in the capitals, listings are -0.2%
lower than last year. Total rental listings increased both nationally
(0.7%) and within the capital cities (0.4%) last week. In comparison to
last year, total rental listings are 15.2% higher nationally and 11.9%
higher across the combined capitals.
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