Interest rates, floods blamed for slow aussie property market

A higher cost of living, higher interest rates and floods have conspired to make people in Australia more reluctant to buy and sell their homes, it is claimed.

The numbers of new properties being bought have fallen compared with last year and the number of home loans approved has fallen to a 10 year low.

The Queensland floods and a rise in interest rates are said by experts to be two of the contributing factors but economists also point out that a 2% rise in housing finance commitments is also having an effect.

The latest figures from the Australia Bureau of Statistics (ABS) shows that the number of home loans approved in March fell 1.5% to a seasonally adjusted 44,968, its lowest level since February 2001.

Source: PropertyCommunity.com