Latest news with #LouisChristopher
Daily Telegraph
17-07-2025
- Business
- Daily Telegraph
Overblown hopes turn housing market stale
Old listings rarely garner serious attention in residential property market analysis. Despite being overlooked by buyers, and most market analysts, these stale listings have a serious impact, in terms of elevating stock levels and also in price direction. Buyers want the freshest of listings, and some even are prepared to pay buyers agents for access to that elusive must-have off market offering. Sydney has 6300 unsold listings that have been on the market for 180 plus days, according to SQM's Louis Christopher who closely monitors stock levels. The old listings number is up 30 per cent on the same time last year. At the same time there's been about a 4 per cent annual decline in new listings for the month of June with SQM calculating 12,700 new listings. All up, Sydney buyers have a selection of 34,500 listings, so about 18 per cent of stock is stale. Christopher notes rising old stock points to a mismatch between pricing and buyer appetite and capacity. Sydney is 'grappling with stale supply even as fresh listings taper off through the winter months,' Christopher advises. Christopher regularly notes that older listings generally increase during market slowdowns or downturns. It appears many Sydney vendors are wedded in their price hopes to past highs, while the cost-of-living pressures and still annoying high mortgage rates have constrained buyer enthusiasm. Unless sold or withdrawn, the high number of homes that are languishing on the market will be an overhang of stock in the market as Sydney approaches the prospect of a bumper spring selling season. The Sydney old listings tally is still well short of the record 10,000 in 2019, when total listings sat at their highest, almost 40,000, which provided buyers with a huge choice and probable stronger negotiating positions. Nationally SQM Research calculates more than 77,000 properties have sat on the market for six months or more, a 13.5 per cent jump year-on-year. Among the state capitals, only Brisbane's old listings are down year-on-year, in their case by seven per cent. It is an international occurrence, too, with calculating 24 per cent of stock in the United States was stale – the highest percentage since 2020. Unrealistic price expectations are also leading to longer selling times, and fewer sales across Sydney. Mosman, the second most sought-after suburb searched by buyers last year on sits at 60 days on market median for its luxury houses. It is selling 15 days slower than July two years ago, according to PropTrack, and with just 200 sales in the past year, sales activity is well down on the 330-plus in peak year 2021. The time to take a Bundeena sale has jumped from 57 days in July 2023 to its current 99 days on market. Wilberforce's median time on market sits at 81 days, up from 64 last July and 45 in July 2023. At 38 days, Kings Langley houses are spending 19 days longer before their sale, double two years ago.
Mercury
12-06-2025
- Business
- Mercury
Aus distressed sales plunge but one capital explodes a shock 36pc
Australia's distressed listings have fallen a solid 9.9pc year-on-year, but troubling signs are emerging in three capitals, one of which has just had a gut-wrenching 36pc monthly spike. National distressed listings figures by SQM Research saw a 4.2 per cent monthly fall emerge in May, dropping to 4,593 homes being put up in forced sales – a drop in the ocean compared to what economists were expecting overall but several capitals have seen big annual jumps. The latest figures have 1,311 homes up for distressed sale in Queensland, 1,127 in New South Wales, 1,033 in Victoria, 621 in Western Australia, 248 in South Australia, 117 in Tasmania, 102 in Northern Territory and 34 in ACT. But the concern lies in where those numbers have come from. MORE: Man pulls out 20m 'monster' in Aussie backyard Wallabies to wealth: Huge windfall looms for 25yo star MORE: Cash-strap student turns $40k to 38 homes Palaszczuk scores insane 684 per cent return on Brisbane property SQM Research head Louis Christopher said 'VIC's distressed listings were up 8.1 per cent over the year, 'while ACT was the only state to post a significant monthly rise at 36pc, now 13.3pc higher annually.' Queensland has consistently held the highest number of distressed listings hovering around 1,300, followed by NSW and Victoria which both sat around 1000 to 1200 in the past few months. But the Australian capital has seen shocking volatility in its numbers, with the current figure fluctuating after a 32.4pc monthly decrease in April, a 48pc monthly increase in March and a 13.6pc monthly increase in January. Victoria's 8.1pc annual rise in May comes after three consecutive months of concerning figures, with a 9.3pc annual rise in April, 8pc annually in March, and a significant yearly jump of 18.2pc in February. Annual figures are compared to the same month the previous year while monthly rises are against the month before. MORE: Shock twist as former Virgin CEO to tear down $17m mansion Inside slumlord's crumbling empire: derelict, unliveable, worth millions The ACT monthly surge comes as other states saw declines during May compared to April, led by WA (-9.6pc) and Qld (-5.5pc), while NSW dipped slightly by 0.4pc and VIC fell by 5.1pc. Mr Christopher said actual mortgagee sales made up about one fifth of current data, with around 500 homes nationally being sold after repossession, but a far bigger number were being forced to market before that situation came to a head. 'I think the banks are massaging the number,' he claimed. 'To do a mortgagee in possession is the final straw for a bank. So what often happens before that final straw is the banks will informally push the borrower to sell. So I'll basically make a phone call and say 'you don't sell your property by this day, we're going to.' 'So we think it's a better measurement that we're capturing. We believe we are capturing those ones where it's a bank that's pushing the borrower to sell informally.' SQM data incorporates a range of situations apart from mortgagee sales to properties pushed to market by divorce and deceased estates. Mr Christopher said Australia had survived the past two years of interest rate surges and cost of living spikes much better than expected. 'In truth, distress listings activity over the past two years has been lower than what we expected as a research house,' Mr Christopher said. 'Our expectation was that we would see distress listings activity get over 10,000 listings following the interest rate rise in 2022, and that didn't materialise.' MORE: Tradie's colossal 5.5m find in Aus backyard Million-dollar shock: Most Aussies now priced out of house market 'Now it is true that we have seen a pick-up in listings over that time in New South Wales and Victoria. In more recent times that pick-up has subsided, and levelled out, and in no state are really recording distress listings activities at alarming levels which would put downward pressure on housing prices.' Mr Christopher said the figures were below longer term average levels that SQM had seen. 'With the interest rate cuts we've had, and yet another likely next month, I think the outlook for distress activity is that they're going to keep falling.' He said the figures did 'jump around from month to month, that is true, so I do tend to like looking at the yearly numbers more and I like looking at the trend of the actual chart itself.' Mr Christopher said distress listings did offer opportunities to get in the market at a lower price. 'Not all of them, but quite a large proportion of them we find that there are opportunities for buyers in this list.' He said the hot ones moved 'real quick' – gone after a week. 'You can tell right away they were actually really, really good value ones because they've moved pretty quickly overall'. 'The housing market is far more efficient than what it was, say, 10, 20, 30 years ago, so bargains can be pinpointed pretty quickly if they're a genuine.' He said current distress levels were 'relatively benign' compared with other financial crisis situations faced by Australians in the past. 'They are commensurate and consistent with the low default rates that the banks have been reporting.' MORE REAL ESTATE NEWS
News.com.au
12-06-2025
- Business
- News.com.au
Aus distressed sales plunge but one capital explodes a shock 36pc
Australia's distressed listings have fallen a solid 9.9pc year-on-year, but troubling signs are emerging in three capitals, one of which has just had a gut-wrenching 36pc monthly spike. National distressed listings figures by SQM Research saw a 4.2 per cent monthly fall emerge in May, dropping to 4,593 homes being put up in forced sales – a drop in the ocean compared to what economists were expecting overall but several capitals have seen big annual jumps. The latest figures have 1,311 homes up for distressed sale in Queensland, 1,127 in New South Wales, 1,033 in Victoria, 621 in Western Australia, 248 in South Australia, 117 in Tasmania, 102 in Northern Territory and 34 in ACT. But the concern lies in where those numbers have come from. Wallabies to wealth: Huge windfall looms for 25yo star Palaszczuk scores insane 684 per cent return on Brisbane property SQM Research head Louis Christopher said 'VIC's distressed listings were up 8.1 per cent over the year, 'while ACT was the only state to post a significant monthly rise at 36pc, now 13.3pc higher annually.' Queensland has consistently held the highest number of distressed listings hovering around 1,300, followed by NSW and Victoria which both sat around 1000 to 1200 in the past few months. But the Australian capital has seen shocking volatility in its numbers, with the current figure fluctuating after a 32.4pc monthly decrease in April, a 48pc monthly increase in March and a 13.6pc monthly increase in January. Victoria's 8.1pc annual rise in May comes after three consecutive months of concerning figures, with a 9.3pc annual rise in April, 8pc annually in March, and a significant yearly jump of 18.2pc in February. Annual figures are compared to the same month the previous year while monthly rises are against the month before. The ACT monthly surge comes as other states saw declines during May compared to April, led by WA (-9.6pc) and Qld (-5.5pc), while NSW dipped slightly by 0.4pc and VIC fell by 5.1pc. Mr Christopher said actual mortgagee sales made up about one fifth of current data, with around 500 homes nationally being sold after repossession, but a far bigger number were being forced to market before that situation came to a head. 'I think the banks are massaging the number,' he claimed. 'To do a mortgagee in possession is the final straw for a bank. So what often happens before that final straw is the banks will informally push the borrower to sell. So I'll basically make a phone call and say 'you don't sell your property by this day, we're going to.' 'So we think it's a better measurement that we're capturing. We believe we are capturing those ones where it's a bank that's pushing the borrower to sell informally.' SQM data incorporates a range of situations apart from mortgagee sales to properties pushed to market by divorce and deceased estates. Mr Christopher said Australia had survived the past two years of interest rate surges and cost of living spikes much better than expected. 'In truth, distress listings activity over the past two years has been lower than what we expected as a research house,' Mr Christopher said. 'Our expectation was that we would see distress listings activity get over 10,000 listings following the interest rate rise in 2022, and that didn't materialise.' 'Now it is true that we have seen a pick-up in listings over that time in New South Wales and Victoria. In more recent times that pick-up has subsided, and levelled out, and in no state are really recording distress listings activities at alarming levels which would put downward pressure on housing prices.' Mr Christopher said the figures were below longer term average levels that SQM had seen. 'With the interest rate cuts we've had, and yet another likely next month, I think the outlook for distress activity is that they're going to keep falling.' He said the figures did 'jump around from month to month, that is true, so I do tend to like looking at the yearly numbers more and I like looking at the trend of the actual chart itself.' Mr Christopher said distress listings did offer opportunities to get in the market at a lower price. 'Not all of them, but quite a large proportion of them we find that there are opportunities for buyers in this list.' He said the hot ones moved 'real quick' – gone after a week. 'You can tell right away they were actually really, really good value ones because they've moved pretty quickly overall'. 'The housing market is far more efficient than what it was, say, 10, 20, 30 years ago, so bargains can be pinpointed pretty quickly if they're a genuine.' He said current distress levels were 'relatively benign' compared with other financial crisis situations faced by Australians in the past. 'They are commensurate and consistent with the low default rates that the banks have been reporting.' MORE REAL ESTATE NEWS
Yahoo
29-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Commonwealth Bank controversy exposes $60 billion reason why you could get locked out of your account
Australians have been warned that if they don't comply with their bank's request for personal information, they could be blocked from accessing their accounts. That's what happened to Louis Christopher, who branded a Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) request for information as "disgusting". A CBA spokesperson told Yahoo Finance the bank was following anti-money laundering legislation and the Know Your Customer policy, which is handed down by the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC). It's another slice of power financial institutions have in their arsenal to combat financial crimes, like money laundering, fraud or scams. Outside of freezing accounts to determine a person's funds are legitimate, the banks have also recently been scrutinised over their power to refuse cash withdrawal requests. If customers can't explain where the money is going, or if the bank determines there's a risk of scam, you could end up like Tim, who was stopped by Westpac from seizing a $6,500 cryptocurrency opportunity. Swinburne University Professor Steve Worthington told Yahoo Finance banks are caught between a rock and a hard place as they try to stop financial crime, and that sometimes customers won't agree with their methods. "You're damned if you do, and damned if you don't," Worthington said. Commonwealth Bank customer rages over threat to cut access to his money: 'Seven day deadline' Dad with no savings reveals surprising money message for struggling Aussies: 'Living pay to pay' Coles shopper 'stunned' after getting $50 item free due to little-known rule: 'Insane' Stopping scams and money laundering from happening is a no-brainer. Aussies lost a collective $2 billion to scams in 2024 (although thankfully that's a 25.9 per cent decrease from 2023). Similarly, the Australian Institute of Criminology estimated that serious and organised crime cost Australia up to $60.1 billion in 2021. Criminals are coming up with new ways to steal and launder money in this increasingly digital world, which they use to fund sex and drug trafficking, child exploitation, fraud, terrorism and other illicit activities. In order to prevent this scourge on the community, banks have to ask certain questions about your money, where it came from, and why it's being spent. Unfortunately, that leaves people furious because it seems invasive. A poll of more than 10,000 Yahoo Finance readers found 71 per cent felt banks have no right to ask you about your it comes to KYC requests, banks will ask you a range of questions to make sure their systems are as up to date as possible. It can be as simple as your name and address, or, in Christopher's situation, you can be asked to explain your "source of your money and your wealth". The 52-year-old SQM Research founder told Yahoo Finance that handing over that type of personal information left him worried. He's been with CBA for nearly 50 years and said there hasn't been anything "abnormal" recently that he felt warranted such a specific probe. "I regard that as a potential security threat to have that information out there on my family," he said. "I've been treated as a likely criminal if I don't provide this very, very personal information, and that's not on." CBA sent him an email in April and a follow-up in May, warning that if he didn't comply with the information request within seven days, he would be locked out of his account. He was told he also wouldn't be able to use his cards at ATMs, shops or online, and was told there would be "flow on consequences" for not acting fast enough. The SQM Research founder felt he was being unfairly singled out, even though he had done nothing wrong. However AUSTRAC told Yahoo Finance why everyday Aussies with no history of misdeeds might be asked for information like this. "Banks ask customers questions and ask them to provide verification so they can understand what a normal transaction looks like for their customers," a spokesperson said. Knowing what a regular transaction history looks like can help financial institutions spot ones that might be dodgy in other peoples' accounts. AUSTRAC said it doesn't prescribe what type of punishment to dish out for non-compliance in KYC requests, as that's up to each financial institution to decide. "AUSTRAC does not require banks to deny services, freeze or close customer accounts," a spokesperson told Yahoo Finance. "Banks need to know the money laundering risks posed by the services they provide and the customers they provide them to, and have processes to manage those risks." But, anti-money laundering legislation has a specific clause that grants financial institutions this power. The law states that banks are well within their rights to do the following until customers do eventually comply: refuse to continue to provide a designated service to the customer refuse to commence to provide a designated service to the customer restrict or limit the provision of a designated service to the customer Banks will also have terms and conditions that allow them to do this for cash withdrawals or movements of money, which customers agree to (whether every person reads those T&Cs is up to them). Commonwealth Bank was supported by the Australian Banking Association (ABA), which said this type of punishment was necessary to ensure KYC protocols are followed by customers. "Banks have strict obligations under Australia's anti-money laundering laws to verify customer identity and understand the nature of their financial activity," a spokesperson told Yahoo Finance. It said KYC isn't just for banks to stop money laundering, but also plays a "vital" role in protecting Aussies from fraud, scams and the use of accounts by money mule networks. Money mule networks are bank accounts used for illegal activities and serves, and act as an intermediary between the scammer and the illicit funds. Rather than having all the scammed money in one account, they can send it to multiple, both in Australia with different banks and overseas, to make it harder for authorities to track it down. "Banks are required to periodically confirm that KYC information is correct and are not permitted to continue to provide services when they are aware that information is out of date," the ABA spokesperson added. "This means that if a customer doesn't respond to repeated requests for information, banks may be legally required to restrict or close the account. "These checks are essential to protect customers and the financial system from fraud, scams and criminal misuse."
Daily Mail
20-05-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
Barefoot Investor Scott Pape unleashes at the Reserve Bank for lowering interest rates
The Barefoot Investor has taken a swipe at the Reserve Bank of Australia, claiming young people should be 'p**sed off' the bank decided to cut the cash rate because it would cause house prices to surge. On Tuesday afternoon, the RBA eased the cash rate by 25 basis points to 3.85 per cent - a low which has not been seen since June 2023. Scott Pape said while the cash rate cut would alleviate mortgage repayments for millions of Aussies it would have a negative impact on young people trying to get into the property market. Mr Pape said young Aussies should be 'pissed' at the decision as it means property prices would inevitably increase. 'If I was a young person right now I would be pretty pissed off,' Mr Pape told 'Every time a young person gets close, it just keeps getting more expensive.' Mr Pape also took aim at the Albanese government for introducing a five per cent deposit scheme for first-home buyers,' labelling the policy as 'totally stupid'. Experts have warned the policy, which is set to come into effect from January 1, 2026, would ultimately push house prices up. 'People shouldn't be buying a home in one of the most expensive cities in the world if they can't afford it,' Mr Pape said. 'I don't understand how a responsible government can stand by and say this is a good thing.' SQM Research Managing Director Louis Christopher said he expects property prices to rise from now and into 2026, with a 10 per cent increase by the end of the year. Mr Christopher said auction clearance rates would skyrocket due to the rate cut and advised first-home buyers to try and enter the market before the end of 2025. 'First home buyers are in a better buying position compared to six months ago,' Mr Christopher said. 'Their purchasing and borrowing power has increased. However, if I am right about price rises, they will need to move quickly, otherwise they will be back to square one on affordability.' An owner-occupier borrower with an average $660,000 mortgage would save $107 on their monthly repayments with the latest rate cut, as typical variable home loan rates with the major banks fell under six per cent. ANZ became the first of the Big Four banks to announce it would match the RBA's latest rate cut with a 25 basis point cut to its variable rates. This means its online-only rate is falling to 5.59 per cent on May 30. Westpac followed seven minutes later, matching ANZ's equally lowest online-only mortgage rate but from June 3. The Commonwealth Bank matched its competitors shortly after, with borrowers getting relief on May 30. Australia's biggest home lender updated its forecasts to have more rate cuts in August and November, with relief at the RBA's next meeting in July a 'live' possibility. NAB's lowest online-only rate is falling to 5.94 per cent on May 30, but it's available for borrowers with a small five per cent deposit. Ms Bullock acknowledged the 13 rate rises in 2022 and 2023 were challenging for borrowers, who copped the most aggressive pace of monetary policy tightening since the late 1980s. 'I know this period of relatively high interest rates has been and continues to be challenging for many households and businesses but it was essential that we brought inflation down,' Ms Bullock said. The RBA declined to suggest more rate cuts were coming but left the door open for further relief as inflation is expected to fall into the target band. 'Inflation has fallen substantially since the peak in 2022, as higher interest rates have been working to bring aggregate demand and supply closer towards balance,' RBA said.
