For the diary: The big dates in property for the first week of February
The first week of February looks to be a busy one for property investors. We look at the dates to keep in mind, and what the indicators might mean for you.
February 2: RPData/Rismark Home Value Index
Marking home price trends by suburb, postcode, capital city and state, the RPData/Rismark Home Value Index is released on a monthly and quarterly basis. CommSec expects that the latest release may show a price lift of 0.8% in January.
February 3: TD Securities inflation gauge (January), ABS building approvals (December), ANZ job advertisement data
The TD Securities and the Melbourne Institute have devised their inflation gauge to indicate monthly movements in the inflation rate, with a one month lag. As always, keeping an eye on inflation will allow investors to have a better idea of future interest rates.
As we’ve noted before, increasing building approval rates can indicate a possible oversupply of property in the future. It’s expected that approval rates stayed flat in December.
February 4: Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) board meeting
The RBA cut the official cash rate last August to an all-time record low of 2.50%.
Since then rates have remained on hold and our experts predict that the cash rate will remain unchanged this month.
February 6: ABS international trade data (December) and retail trade data (December)
Thursday’s data releases will help investors gauge the state of the economy. We’ll find out the extent of the country’s trade deficit (CommSec is expecting the deficit to near $350 million), and whether retail sales have increased in the last quarter.
February 7: RBA statement on monetary policy
Investors will have a better idea of the RBA’s monetary policy stance after Friday. It remains to be seen whether the RBA is comfortable with the December quarter’s higher than expected inflation figures.