Property & Economy
WA dwelling completions drop 14% to 19,569 in 2025-26
ABS building activity data shows WA completed 19,569 dwellings in 2025-26, down 14% on the year, as apartment completions fell 40%.
RBA
Coverage of the Reserve Bank of Australia — cash rate decisions, statements and forecasts, and how each move reaches mortgages, rents and business costs.
14 stories
Property & Economy
Former RBA board member Harper says another rate hike plausible
Former RBA board member Ian Harper says another 2026 rate hike is plausible but not likely, weeks after the cash rate lifted to 4.60 per cent.
Property & Economy
ABS moves CPI release earlier, skips mid-2026 weight update
The ABS will publish CPI on the fourth Wednesday of each month from February 2027, after determining a mid-2026 weight update is unnecessary.
Technology & AI
Australia bans card surcharges from October 1
From October 1, Australian businesses can no longer add card surcharges, forcing 16% of merchants to absorb or reprice the cost of accepting payments.
Property & Economy
RBA flags inflation risks may be materialising, reports say
The RBA has reportedly flagged that inflation risks may be materialising, which could pause the rate-cut cycle that has eased mortgage costs for
Property & Economy
RBA September 2026 decision: what the July data say
After a missed August call, our framework reads the July inflation, jobs and wages data as a hike at the RBA's 29 September meeting.
Property & Economy
ABS housing finance falls 5.4% as investors retreat
ABS data shows 134,225 new dwelling loans in June 2026 quarter, down 5.4%, as investors pull back hardest and first-home buyers borrow bigger.
Property & Economy
ABS building approvals rebound 7.2% but units still fall
ABS building approvals rose 7.2% to 18,328 in June 2026, with houses up 15.8% year-on-year while multi-unit dwellings fell 1.5%, the stock renters need
Property & Economy
RBA survey: most Australians get interest rates backwards
More than half of Australians surveyed by the RBA think higher interest rates push inflation up, not down, and it changes how monetary policy actually
Property & Economy
Will the RBA Raise Rates in August 2026? Our Model Just Flipped to Hike
Headline inflation fell to 3.8% on 29 July, yet services and non-tradables inflation both rose and the trimmed mean did not move. Our ten-driver framework crossed its hike boundary by 0.03 — with the four strongest objections to that reading set out in full.
Property & Economy
ABS CPI release moves earlier from 2027, skips weight update
The June 2026 quarter CPI landed on 29 July with two structural changes: earlier monthly releases from February 2027 and no mid-year weight update
Property & Economy
Australian wages growth steady at 3.3%, private sector cools
Australia's Wage Price Index rose 3.3% in the year to March 2026, but private sector pay slowed to 3.2% as new home loans fell 6.2%.