APRAAPRA - The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority is a statutory authority of the Australian Government and the prudential regulator of the Australian financial services industry.

"Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) views a higher proportion of interest-only lending in the current environment to be indicative of a higher risk profile,” said APRA Chairman Wayne Byres. “We will therefore be monitoring the share of interest-only lending within total new mortgage lending for each [lender], and will consider the need to impose additional requirements ... when the proportion of new lending on interest-only terms exceeds 30 per cent of total new mortgage lending.”

What does that mean to investors?

According to Domain, the Sydney auction market 'went nuclear' on Saturday with a record-breaking performance ahead of the Easter break. An unprecedented 1152 homes were scheduled for auction on Saturday, which was the highest ever weekend offering. The previous record of 1128 was set on the pre-Easter weekend of 2015. Sydney also recorded its highest ever number of weekend auction sales on Saturday with $760.9 million worth of property changing hands.

Source: Domain

So how long before the Sydney market reaches an un-lendable level?

Infrastructure boom drives Toowoomba to top 10

It isn’t a case of the chicken and the egg when it comes to infrastructure and businesses: bring the infrastructure and the businesses will come.

New data shows that four suburbs, located more than 30km from a major CBD, made the top 10 suburbs for most business registrations in 2016.

Toowoomba, in seventh spot, featured in the national in the top 10 list of highest ABN/ACN registrations.

(Source 07/02/2017 The Brisbane Times - The Infrastructure boom drives Toowoomba to top 10)

CBA unit BankWest set to axe negative gearing tax breaks

Bankwest is set to rock the $1 trillion mortgage market and more than 1.5 million property investors by axing negative gearing benefits that drive lucrative residential property investment, particularly in Melbourne and Sydney.

The bank – owned by Commonwealth Bank of Australia, the nation’s largest mortgage provider – will announce on Monday 20th Feb that generous tax breaks will not be allowed for calculating loan eligibility for new – and some existing – borrowers.

Homebuyers are being urged to take advantage of Perth’s low house prices after figures revealed prices had increased in the final months of last year.

The latest data from the Real Estate Institute of WA showed Perth’s median house price increased by almost 2 per cent in the three months to December to $535,000. REIWA president Hayden Groves said transactional activity reached a “remarkable” 30-year low in August, but the new figures indicated buyer confidence was recovering.