Aussie borrowers in a hurry to pay off mortgages, and number of properties on the market subsides

Robert SimeonSeptember 30, 2012

I may have been deeply buried (surprise, surprise) when the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) reported online advertising for the 2011-12 financial year had reached $3.14 billion, eclipsing the previous record by more than $549 million. The 21% jump also included $47.4 million in mobile advertising, which the IAB reported for the first time. Online ad spend jumps to $3 billion – other predictions are that online advertising will surpass television spending within 12 months, and print (the largest sector) will be eclipsed in 2014. Just five years ago, the breakdown in print to online spends was approximately 75% (print) and 25% (online).

Online advertising industry breaks through the $3 billion barrier with growth across all categories, which is an amazing achievement that demonstrates how quickly online is now dominating our markets. This month Google celebrated its 14th birthday which is all the more amazing given the role it plays in our day-to-day lives. I believed it was important to drill down to find the accelerant that ignited this online tsunami which I believe started on April 3, 2010, when Apple Inc released its brilliant tablet computer, otherwise known as the first generation iPad.

It is interesting to note that Apple Inc sold 3.27 million iPads in the third quarter of 2010, 4.19 million in the fourth quarter of 2010, 7.33 million in the first quarter of 2011, 4.69 million in the second quarter of 2011, 9.25 million in the third quarter of 2011, 11.12 million in quarter four 2011, 15.3 million in quareter one 2012, 11.80 million in the second quarter of 2012 and 17 million in the third quarter of 2012. This is phenomenal growth and also led the army of consumers to move from dumb phones to smartphones. In a nutshell, this translates into how our economies have now embraced technologies, which in turn will result in newspapers moving sooner rather than later into digital formats only.

Steve Maraboli said “As a business leader you have to ask yourself, am I creating a consumer environment that is conducive to loyalty? If the answer is no, FIX IT!”

It has been a while, although it was always going to happen. House prices are set to surge 15% by late 2013 as rates fall 100 basis points, says the Australian Financial Review's David Bassanese, which is a pretty fair assumption given Australian house prices surged in September.

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Australia (on the global property stage) has witnessed borrowers in a hurry to pay off mortgages, the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) has found. Around half of all borrowers are ahead on mortgage payments. In total, the RBA estimated mortgage prepayment buffers in Australia were equivalent to around one and a half years ahead of scheduled repayments based on current interest rates. I don’t believe the RBA will cut the cash rate when it meets this week, although it was interesting to read South-west Sydney mortgage borrowers lead the RBA’s 15 most vulnerable localities.

As we predicted the number of properties available is starting to subside, and this will continue until mid-October, when the market embarks on the final run to Christmas. Yes, Christmas.

Robert Simeon is a director of Richardson  Wrench Mosman and Neutral Bay and has been selling residential real estate in Sydney since 1985. He has also been writing real estate blog Virtual Realty News since 2000. The RWM real estate model has sold in excess of $1 billion in database sales globally.

Robert Simeon

Robert Simeon is a director of Richardson Wrench Mosman and Neutral Bay and has been selling residential real estate in Sydney since 1985. He has also been writing real estate blog Virtual Realty News since 2000.

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