Keys to the kingdom lost

Credit: SMH.com.au

The tightening of restrictions on foreign investment in Australian real estate has not only dampened buyer interest, but also left agents confused and wary.

TALK to any of the estate agents working in Toorak, Camberwell, Kew and Hawthorn and they will tell you that overseas interest in suburban Australian property has declined.

No doubt there are many reasons for this, but the one that most say has had the greatest impact is the announcement by federal Assistant Treasurer Nick Sherry on April 24 that temporary residents are now required to seek Foreign Investment Review Board approval to acquire residential real estate in Australia.

The announcement also foreshadowed tough new civil penalties for non-compliance, including sanctions for vendors, purchasers, and agents involved in breaches of the act. As a result, it is not only prospective overseas purchasers who have had to review their position. Estate agents are also concerned about the prospect of sanctions in the event that they are accused of breaching the new laws. Until the detail of the proposed new regulations is disclosed, those concerns will continue unabated.

At the time of Senator Sherry's announcement, many complained that the decision to restrict foreign investment in Australian real estate was a hasty response to growing public sentiment against what was perceived to be a flood of overseas purchasers. The fact that it took several weeks following the announcement for the new policy to be published on the review board's website, and that details of the proposed sanctions are yet to be disclosed, would add some credibility to this view.

The recent changes revive the situation that prevailed until late 2008 when many of the restrictions on the right of foreign investment in Australian real estate were relaxed.

The most significant of these changes gave temporary residents the right to buy established dwellings for use as a principal place of residence without seeking board approval. As a result of the April changes, they must now first seek this approval. If applicants are eligible for approval under the new policy, the acquisition will be approved subject to legally binding conditions that will differ according to the type of real estate being bought.

Certain acquisitions continue not to require board approval, including the purchase of property by Australian citizens living abroad, and the purchase of new dwellings from a developer, where the developer has board pre-approval to sell those dwellings to non-residents.

The changes have produced inconsistent results. For example, a non-resident or an Australian permanent resident married to an Australian citizen acquires an interest in property when they purchase as joint tenants. However, the non-resident spouse of an Australian permanent resident acquires no interest even if the purchase is proposed to be as joint tenants.

The restriction on the right of a non-resident spouse to acquire an interest in property seems to fly in the face of family law principles, which, in the absence of any contrary agreement by the parties to the marriage, would ordinarily recognise a spouse's interest in property in the event of the breakdown of the relationship.

Curiously, the review board exempts from approval the acquisition of an interest by operation of law - such as a court order regarding the division of property in a divorce settlement. Therefore a non-resident who separates from her permanent resident spouse and takes proceedings in the Family Court stands in a stronger position than one who remains married. There does not seem to be any logic to this approach and were it to be challenged there would be good grounds for believing that it could not be sustained.

As stated earlier, the holders of a temporary residence visa may acquire established dwellings for use as their principal place of residence, subject to board approval.

Care needs to be taken in determining whether the visa a person holds grants temporary residence. Herein lies the problem for estate agents and is one reason they are worried about the prospect of sanctions. First, the board policy contains a very brief and unclear definition of the term. Most agents know that student visas and what are known as 457 visas are temporary residence visas, but in a regime that has more than 130 different visas, it may be difficult to know which ones grant residence and which do not. For example, not all people on a 457 visa fall within the definition as some of these visas are issued for periods of stay of less than 12 months, which is the trigger date contained within the definition. Agents are quite rightly concerned that these are not issues that they are trained to deal with, or may not be qualified to give advice on.

The problem is further compounded with many visas, including the 457 temporary residence visa for holders of passports from designated countries, being issued electronically. No amount of looking at a passport will give any insight as to the class of visa that the holder has, or the rights that attach to it.

With these issues in mind, agents are justifiably concerned at the prospect of being caught up in enforcement proceedings no matter what due diligence they employ. For this reason, many are no longer pursuing the lucrative overseas market at least until the new regulations are published and there is more clarity about their obligations.

David Stratton is an immigration law specialist at Nevett Ford.

Credit: SMH.com.au

The World's Most Expensive Homes for 2010

Credit: Overseas Property Mall

1. “Antilla”, Mumbai – $1billion

The world’s most expensive home in 2010 is unquestionable. It is the first $1 billion home the world has seen. A custom-build 27 story towering mansion, Antilla in Mumbai is the home of the world’s fifth richest man, namely Mukesh Ambani, head of Indian petro-chemical giant Reliance Industries, which is India’s most valuable firm by market capitalization.

With double height ceilings, ballrooms, crystal chandelier ceilings, retractable stages, and 600 servants, there is no other home on earth that compares to the 570 feet tall Antilla.

2. Villa Leopolda, French Riviera – $506 million

Villa Leopolda is an 80,000 square foot Chateuau built in 1902 by King Leopold II of Belgium. The villa has been rumoured to be the home of Bill Gates and many more global figures, but has actually been home to French banker Edmond Safira, whose wife Lily still lives there. The 19 bedroom villa, which boasts sports courts, a bowling alley, multiple kitchens, dining rooms and a movie theatre, received even more press lately when a Russian mogul lost his deposit on the property when he reneged on completing the sale.

3. One Hyde Park – The Penthouse, London – $200 million

This massively stylish modern penthouse may not be so expensive did it not sit atop the famous number 1 Hyde Park address. As it is in such a premium location it has been built as a home for the rich and famous complete with SAS guard, bullet proof windows, iris scanners, panic rooms and a secret tunnel to the nearby Mandarin Hotel. The building has communal spas, squash courts and wine tasting rooms, and the penthouse is served by 24 hour room service.

4. Fairfield Pond, The Hamptons – $170 million

This 63 acre home is considered the largest residential compound in America. The 29 bedroom beachfront home of publicity shy billionaire Ira Rennert has 5 sports courts, a bowling alley and a $150,000 hot tub.

5. Hearst Mansion, Beverly Hills – $165 million

This mansion — the former home of publishing giant William Randolph Hearst, the inspiration for the main character in “Citizen Kane” –, features 29 bedrooms and three pools. The estate became a pop-culture icon after being used in The Godfather movie, when the infamous severed horse’s head turned up in the owner’s bed. The fact that assassinated President John F Kennedy stayed in the mansion during his honeymoon also added to its status. The house has some notable neighbours, including Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes and David and Victoria Beckham

6. Franchuk Villa, Kensington – $161million

Anyone else spotting a trend here (the most expensive homes being mainly in the UK and US, this making it 2 all). This Victorian Villa was a girl’s prep school until 1997, when it was bought and upgraded in 2006. After receiving a £10 million overhaul and refurb it was purchased by Ukrainian AIDS philanthropist, Elena Franchuk, and renamed the Franchuk Villa.

7. “The Pinnacle”, Montana – $155million

This is the home of Time and Edra Blixseth, owners of the billionaires-only golf and ski resort “Yellowstone Club” in Montana. It will be the largest and grandest property on the resort, but is still small in comparison to some of those on this list, with only 10 bedrooms. To catch up the property has impressive features such as every inch of floor being heated, a heated driveway and fireplaces in all bathrooms. (3-2 to America).

8. “The Manor”, Los Angeles – $150 million

The home of Aaron Spelling, dubbed “The Manor” by wife Cindy, has 123 rooms for his family to choose from, an indoor skating rink, multiple pools, three kitchens, sports courts, private orchard, and a bowling alley. The home, which he had built from scratch in 1991 also has a room used exclusively for wrapping presents and an entire floor dedicated to closet space.

9. Updown Court, Windlesham, Surrey – $139million

The description of this home is above, as it was the 3rd most expensive home in 2008. What is interesting however, is that in 2008 it was valued at $110million, meaning its value has grown substantially even during such difficult financial times.

10. Dracula’s Castle, Romania – $135million

This home needs no introduction. Built in the 14th century, the castle is now a national monument and museum thanks to the legend surrounding it, which also needs no introduction. It has 57 rooms in total, including 17 bedrooms filled with antiques and historical artefacts. It wouldn’t do for the publicly shy Ira Rennert mentioned above, but for the quirkier billionaire, the 450 million tourists that visit every year may be worth it for living in Dracula’s castle.

Money for nothing – and some tips for free

Credit: NewsMaker

What simple measures can a homeowner take to ensure they not only get everything their home is worth at sale time, but a whole lot more? In Sold For Top Dollar, mother and daughter home stagers and now authors Charyn and Kate Youngson explain exactly how it’s done. They are even happy to provide five tips ahead of the book’s official launch...

1. Declutter - Unclutter and rearrange your furnishings to open up the look of your home.

2. Depersonalise – Get rid of your crazy teapot collection and religious icons. You’re selling your space, not your personal stuff.

3. Repair – Detail your home like you would detail your car. Take care to upgrade and repair your home so that any potential buyer doesn’t see fault and problem areas.

4. Neutralise – Try to make your home a blank canvas. Get rid of loud feature walls and brightly coloured window treatments. The buyer does not want to repaint before they move in.

5. Clean – Imagine your home is a 5-star hotel and clean it to that standard. Nothing turns a potential buyer off quicker than dirt, dust and cobwebs. It gives the impression of a neglected home that hasn’t been cared for.

Really, there should be a Tip 6 – buy Sold For Top Dollar. It provides a lot more advice on how to generate money from your house sale, build equity and, for those who want to get a bit more serious about investing, how to renovate an investment property for profit.

As a single mum who went from unemployment to flourishing business owner, Charyn Youngson has some great stories to tell. When daughter Kate came on board and the business started booming, it seemed the obvious time for the two women to release Sold For Top Dollar, a book that lifts the lid on undervalued properties and quick, cheap real estate sales.

Sold For Top Dollar is a refreshing change from many of the how-to books on today’s market because it actually tells readers, in plain English, how they can increase the value of their homes. Sure, readers could achieve even greater value increases by using Charyn and Kate’s professional Houses To Impress service but following the book’s advice should certainly pay dividends.

The book pays for itself many times over within a chapter as Charyn and Kate explain the moneymaking advantages of home staging for sale and the value-adding advantages of renovation. Sold For Top Dollar will have its national launch at the SA Writers Centre, Rundle Street, Adelaide, on Wednesday, April 28, after which Charyn will start a national speaking tour.

For further information, phone Charyn or Kate Youngson at Houses To Impress on 08 8395 1144 or Shane McNally at Soapbox Media on 0412 956 615.

About Houses To Impress

Australia's leading home staging company. Run by mother and daughter team Charyn and Kate Youngson, Houses To Impress has developed a huge reputation for the ability to add thousands of dollars to homes and ensure they are sold for a premium price.

Unreal estate prices as million dollar homes 'sell like hotcakes' but won't last

• Million dollar homes still sell well
• But market 'not sustainable'

Credit:News.com.au
MILLION-dollar homes are selling at a rate of one every two hours, analysis of sales figures reveal.

The staggering spending habits of some home buyers has seen the equivalent of 12 $1 million-plus homes selling a day at auctions for the past three weekends, said Mal James from Melbourne's James Buyers Advocates.

"There has been an incredible 180 sales over a million in the last fortnight including the Queen's Birthday weekend," Mr James said on his Saturday-night real-estate wrap.

A four-bedroom home in Chadstone, which sold for $1.26 million, and a nine-room Montmorency house, which went for $1.6 million in Victoria, were among the million-dollar sales.

Real Estate Institute of Victoria spokesman Robert Larocca said Mr James' figures were in line with the record number of properties auctioned this weekend.

"That number would not surprise me because the number we record of over a million dollars is around seven, eight or nine per cent of the market," Mr Larocca said.

But Mr Larocca said the high end of the market was cooling and an increase in houses sold for over a million would mean just as many were passed in.

"It can be both things at once," Mr Larocca said.

The 942 homes for sale on Saturday and Sunday made it the biggest winter weekend in Melbourne ever.

It was twice the number of auctions at the same time last year and the trend was expected to continue next weekend when 880 auctions are scheduled.

Of the 942 properties for sale, 539 sold at auction, 98 sold before, one sold after and 304 were passed in.

"More people are actually physically selling their home, but they are not getting the increases that we saw three months ago," Mr Larocca said.

"This is probably a good thing because the pre-Anzac Day market was not sustainable in the long term."

Winter market cools auction clearances

Credit:SMH

There is increasing hesitation among home buyers, but they are yet to return to the extended hibernation that accompanied the global financial crisis.

Sydney's weekend auction clearance rate slipped to 60 per cent, the weakest Saturday result since May last year. But it was quite a reasonable result given June auction volumes are at record levels. Historically June has 1400 auctions, but this year there are 2600.

The 925 sales thus far reflect a 63 per cent success rate.

The clearance rate last month was 66 per cent, from the 3410 auctions, making it the busiest month on record since data collection started in 1988. There were an average of 480 auctions on the five Saturdays of last month.

This year's best auction clearance rates were 75 per cent in February and 74 per cent in April, Australian Property Monitors says. The deterioration in Sydney clearance rates has been mirrored in Melbourne, which at the height of its real estate fever were well above 80 per cent most weekends.

But early last month, after the sixth successive interest rate rise, the Melbourne clearance rate fell decisively below 80 per cent. Now it is at an 18-month low of 67 per cent.

Perhaps with the exception of Sydney's inner-west powerhouse market, the auction scene has changed since Easter as record volumes have triggered lower clearance rates and increased buying opportunities.

Listings next month appear to put a halt to the recent selling spree. So far 860 listings are advertised, compared with the 1140 average for July volumes over the past two decades.

An economist with Property Monitors, Matthew Bell, said: ''A combination of winter, as well as a cooling property market, have affected confidence levels of potential buyers over the last few months, and this now seems to be registering with sellers as well.''

There was a strong relationship between falling clearance rates and falling price-growth rates, he said.

The recent annual price growth placed Australia as the fourth fastest growing property market in the world, behind China, Hong Kong and Singapore, according to a survey of 47 countries conducted by the international real estate agency Knight Frank. It was based on the Australian Bureau of Statistics figure of 20 per cent annual price growth, but even the more conservative 12.5 per cent estimate by RP Data would have placed Australia in fifth place. This time last year Australia ranked 34th, after a 6.7 per cent downturn during 2008.

Nick Broadhurst, of Knight Frank Australia, said top-end confidence emerged in February and March, houses and units above $4 million being well received by the market.

''But with this confidence came more stock and when combined with the European troubles and the announcement of Australia's super mining tax, the heat was quickly removed," Mr Broadhurst said.

While transactions were still taking place, it was not at the same pace or same level as earlier in the year, he said.

Dalrye, an 1891 Waverley residence, tested the suburb's top-end strength at auction at the weekend. Its McGrath agents Bethwyn Richards and Matt Lahood were expecting a record $4.3 million-plus. It last sold in 1991, for $900,000, when sold by the merchant banker Mark Burrows.

After it was called onto the market at $4,575,000 on Saturday, three bidders remained.

The auction was a cautious, drawn-out affair - time even for the backyard camellias to fall to the ground - yet it sold after another dozen bids for a healthy $4.76 million.

Australia named one of world's best property markets

Credit:NineMSN

The Australian property market has been named as one of the world's best performing on the back of a 20 percent rise in prices in the last year.

The stellar growth in property values was driven by a combination of a 40 year low in interest rates, the increased first home buyer’s grant and population growth, according to a survey of 47 countries by international real estate agent Knight Frank. The survey ranks Australia as the world’s fourth best for price growth.

"With interest rates now rising, the government withdrawing stimulus and the supply response picking up, we expect house prices to slow over the next six to nine months," Liam Bailey, head of residential research at Knight Frank said.

China was the top performing country with house prices gaining 68 percent in the year to March 2010 with Hong Kong and Singapore taking second and third places respectively.

The entire Asia Pacific region was the biggest grower globally with house prices increasing by 17.8 percent.

Europe didn’t fare so well, dominating the bottom half of the table. Estonia dropped by 40.3 percent in the year to March 2010 with the Ukraine and Lithuania being other notable losers.

House prices in the United Kingdom rose by a less than impressive 8.8 percent for the same period.

However, Scandinavian countries did experience some growth.

"In Europe a positive story has been provided by the Scandinavian countries of Norway, Sweden and Finland. "Here annual growth has hit double digits as housing markets, less beset by currency weaknesses, and debt crisis than many of their European neighbours, has allowed supply shortages to fuel growth once more," Mr Bailey said.

Knight Frank’s study was based on the Australian Bureau of Statistics' House Price Index, which critics have claimed overstates property price growth.

Twitter Places: More Context For Your Tweets

Credit: Twitter Blog
If you're like everyone at the Twitter office, you're going crazy about the World Cup. When turning to Twitter to keep up with the current game, it helps to know where a Tweet is coming from—is that person watching the game on TV or is he actually in the stadium? To help answer that question, we're excited to announce Twitter Places on twitter.com and mobile.twitter.com. Starting today, you can tag Tweets with specific places, including all World Cup stadiums in South Africa, and create new Twitter Places. You can also click a Twitter Place within a Tweet to see recent Tweets from a particular location. Try it out during the next match—you will be able to see Tweets coming from the stadium.

Several other features of this launch include:

• Foursquare and Gowalla integration: Many Foursquare and Gowalla users publish check-ins to Twitter. Location is a key component of these Tweets, so we worked closely with both companies to associate a Twitter Place with Tweets generated by these services. This means that if you click on a Twitter Place, such as "Ritual Roasters," you will see standard Tweets and check-ins from Foursquare and Gowalla.
• API: We are releasing API functionality that lets developers integrate Twitter Places into their applications.
• Support for more browsers: Now, you can add location to your Tweets from any browser—Safari and Internet Explorer, in addition to Chrome or Firefox.

Over the next week, we will roll this out to users in 65 countries around the world, so keep an eye out for the "Add your location" link below the Tweet box. This is possible thanks to key data partnerships with TomTom and Localeze. We are also working to bring Twitter Places to our other mobile applications, including Twitter for iPhone, Android, and Blackberry. Follow @geo for geo-specific updates, and check our Help Center to learn how to use Twitter Places.

Credit: Twitter Blog

House price growth 'set to slow on rates'

Image credit: News.com.au

• Recent growth cannot be sustained
• Prices won't fall, BIS Shrapnel says

Credit: News.com.au
RISING interest rates and weaker first home buyer activity will lead to slower house price growth in 2010, an economic forecaster says.

House prices will not fall though, and rents are tipped to continue to rise because of a lack of supply, BIS Shrapnel says in its Residential Property Prospects, 2010 to 2013 report.

BIS senior project manager Angie Zigomanis said first home buyer activity has dropped after the expiry of the first home owner's grant boost at the end of 2009.

Affordability has also suffered as interest rates rise off their low levels, he says.

"With interest rates quickly lifting from these emergency levels, and the current variable rate of 7.4 per cent now being close to long term trends, the recent levels of price growth cannot be maintained," Mr Zigomanis said.

Investors will replace some of the demand lost as a result of those factors, meaning house prices will continue to grow, BIS says.

More moderate interest rate movements than recent months will also aid purchaser confidence, it says.

BIS forecasts the cash rate to rise by 50 basis points in the 2010/11 financial year and by another 50 basis points in 2011/12.

"The more stable interest rate environment is expected to underpin purchaser confidence as economic conditions continue to strengthen, and should continue to push through moderate house prices rises," Mr Zigomanis said.

House price growth is likely to remain at an average in the mid-single digit percentage range over the next three years, he says.

On a capital city basis, Sydney and Perth are expected to post the strongest growth in house prices in the coming years.

Weaker demand and local economic conditions are expected to lead to more moderate price growth in Brisbane, Hobart and Canberra.

Melbourne and Darwin have already experienced very strong price rises and low affordability will limit further rises, BIS says.

For renters, the shortage of dwellings will keep pressure on rents.

"Even though overseas migration inflows are steadily easing, a deficiency of stock is still in place with dwelling construction below underlying demand," Mr Zigomanis said.

Bondi beach parking spot costs more than a Porsche

Credit: News.com.au

• Previous sales record $240,000
• Two garages on Bondi Beach
• They are only 13sqm in size

TWO garage spots near Bondi Beach in Sydney are expected to set an Australian record for expensive parking spaces when they go under the hammer this week.

The garages, on the southern end of Bondi Beach, are set to eclipse the sale record set by a $240,000 garage in North Bondi in February.

The 13sq m properties, to be auctioned by Raine & Horne on Thursday, are opposite Bondi Icebergs, which is a favourite hangout for visiting celebrities.

They are leased as storage space for $9000 a year by the Icebergs club.

One of the spaces, on a 48-year lease, is expected to sell for $180,000. The vendor hopes the second space, with a 78-year lease, will fetch in excess of $250,000 - more than a new Porsche 911.

Raine & Horne Double Bay agent Ric Serrao, who sold the $240,000 Brighton Boulevard parking spot, said he had two clients willing to pay $300,000 for a garage -- but at North Bondi.

"They live in that pocket, but I don't have anything to sell them; I wish I did," he said.

"It shows how valuable space has become.

"After that other garage sale, I had clients joking about putting their letter boxes on separate title and selling them."

Parking spots in the CBD ranged from $60,000 to $70,000 south of Town Hall and could reach $140,000 in the financial district towards Circular Quay, agents said.

The most expensive car park for sale on findacarpark.com.au is $120,000 for one at 215 Clarence St.

City Commercial Property managing director Warren Duncan said parking spaces at Bondi were eclipsing CBD sales.

"There's a shortage of car parking at Bondi because most one-bedroom apartments don't have parking," Mr Duncan said.

Darwin property more expensive than New York and London

Credit: News.com.au

• Darwin houses more expensive NY, London
• Sydney also pricier, demand not going to change
• Australia the fastest-growing Western nation

THE average Darwin house is more expensive than its equivalents in London and New York, a comparison of real estate in cities around the world has found.

Combined figures from Residex and Australian Property Monitors show the median cost of a Darwin house is $549,035 - almost $90,000 ahead of London, where the median price for a two to three-bedroom house is $462,000, reported Northern Territory News.

A two-bedroom, free-standing house in the New York City metropolitan area (not including Manhattan) is about $80,000 less.

Sydney fared even worse.

Residex head of research John Lindeman said: "It's quite incredible that houses are cheaper in those cities than in Sydney.

"But it's caused by the demand for Sydney houses, which keeps outpacing the supply - and that's not going to change any time soon."

In Los Angeles it costs almost $250,000 less than in Sydney to buy a house. The peak US industry body, the National Association of Realtors, puts the median house cost at $401,000.

Las Vegas is even more affordable, with the price of a median house at just $166,000.

Darwin's real-estate market only failed to outstrip the major Canadian city of Vancouver, where the median house price is $612,000.

Mr Lindeman said house prices were driven by population growth, as Australia was the fastest-growing Western nation.

To read more on this story visit: http://www.ntnews.com.au/article/2010/05/30/151561_ntnews.html

Which state capital has the least affordable homes after Perth? The answer may surprise.

Source: Maverick Strategies

A new report measuring housing affordability in states has found Brisbane has the second most unaffordable homes in the country.

• Just 9.8pc of Brisbane houses ‘affordable’
• Second to Perth, with 5.5pc affordability
• COAG report measures state performance

BRISBANE has the nation’s least affordable homes after Perth, with nine out of 10 city dwellers paying over-the-top house prices.

One in five Queenslanders on moderate incomes buy homes within their means but when it gets to Brisbane just 9.8 per cent of houses are affordable.

This cost of living squeeze is detailed in a series of reports out today and backs up what many Queenslanders are feeling.

Brisbane is second only to Perth, which has just 5.5 per cent home affordability.

The Council of Australian Government’s (COAG) Reform Council’s first baseline performance report compiles data for all state and territory governments and the Federal Government.

It measures them on their performance in key areas such as housing affordability.

The report says that in Brisbane “the typical home price was the same as Sydney” but there was less diversity in the market and “income levels were much lower than in Sydney”.

Housing approvals plummet, forces RBA's hand

Source: Real Estate Business

It seems the RBA’s decision to keep rates on hold was sound, as housing approvals endure the largest slump in almost a decade.

According to the ABS, there was a 14.8 per cent slow down in dwelling approvals in April.

The drop confirms previous industry warnings that the housing market would soften by the second half of this year and will push the national shortfall in housing supply past official estimates of 200,000 dwellings within months.

But while a drop in housing approvals was widely predicted, the slump far exceeded the forecasted 5 per cent decline.

The drop in housing approvals combined with a raft of other less positive economic data released over the last month, both domestically and internationally, persuaded the RBA to take a break from interest rate hikes.

Yesterday, the RBA decided to keep its cash rate at 4.5 per cent, snapping a series of three rate rises in as many months.

RP Data’s research analyst Cameron Kusher said the case for a rate pause was obvious.

“No doubt the RBA would have been happy to see the rate of property value growth slowing this month, with the RP Data-Rismark Home Value Index released on Monday showing that capital city property values increased by 0.2 per cent during April 2010. This release comes on the back of six months of falling housing finance commitments, weakening consumer sentiment results, a fluctuating share market and ongoing economic uncertainty in Europe. Given these factors, it becomes quite obvious as to why the RBA have decided not to raise interest rates this month, especially given that last month they indicated that rates were now back to ‘normal levels’,” Mr Kusher told The Adviser.