Brianna Walker February 5, 2021

Mayor Teresa Harding, Ipswich MPs Jen Howard and Lance McCallum and West Moreton Health's CEO Dr Kerrie Freeman and Board Chair Michael Willis outside the sold council buildings

Ipswich City Council has sold four of its buildings and other land to West Moreton Health for $20.65 million in a move that is set to future proof the city.

A crucial step in the redevelopment of Ipswich Central, the sale of the South Street buildings and other properties paves the way for a dedicated health precinct in Ipswich that will help keep pace with the region’s booming population.

Mayor Teresa Harding said it was an important milestone for the city as council brings jobs, growth and investment in to the heart of Ipswich. “I would like to thank the State Government and West Moreton Health for working closely with council on the sale,” she said.

Feb 1,2021 Ryan Felsman is a Senior Economist at CommSec

The Aussie housing market is buoyant as the lifestyle stampede from the big cities to regional areas continues during the pandemic. Home prices advanced at the beginning of 2021, supported by record-low mortgage rates, the HomeBuilder grant scheme, the improving labour market, low advertised housing inventory and a pick up in home sales. In fact, CoreLogic estimates that “the number of national home sales over the past three months was 23.9 per cent higher than the equivalent three month period from a year ago.” The lift in sales volumes is consistent with an almost 50 per cent surge in owner-occupier housing loan approvals over the six months to November 2020.

Philip Lowe | Feb 2,2021

In Australia, the economic recovery is well under way and has been stronger than was earlier expected. There has been strong growth in employment and a welcome decline in the unemployment rate to 6.6 per cent. Retail spending has been strong and many of the households and businesses that had deferred loan repayments have now recommenced repayments. These outcomes have been underpinned by Australia's success on the health front and the very significant fiscal and monetary support.

Tim Lawless 1 Feb 2021

Housing values continued to rise through the first month of 2021 with CoreLogic’s national home value index up 0.9% over the month. The January movement takes Australian home values to a fresh record high. Housing values have surpassed pre-COVID levels by 1.0%, and the index is 0.7% higher than the previous September 2017 peak.

TARYN PARISTUE 19 JAN 21

Analysts at the Reserve Bank have projected house prices could increase by 30 per cent over the next three years if low interest rates prevail.

An RBA report released under a Freedom of Information request on Friday examined the effect of ongoing low interest rates on asset values. The central bank has cut the cash rate by 1.4 percentage points over the past 18 months and it is now at an all-time low of 0.1 per cent.

The report shows that low interest rates will increase asset prices, which will have a ripple effect on wealth and household spending, bucking the house price trends predicted last year.