Property price growth in Australia is set to slow considerably this year, according to global credit agency Fitch Ratings.
The agency predicts that property prices will rise about 2 per cent in Australia during the coming year – well down on the 8 per cent average annual growth enjoyed over in the last three years.
Stretched affordability and further compression of rental yields are likely to be key factors driving down price growth in Australia,” Fitch says in a media statement. “This is especially the case in Sydney and Melbourne, where price appreciation in recent years has outpaced wage growth – leading to decreasing levels of affordability.
Weaker demand from investors has also already begun to affect mortgage demand, as falling rental yields and new prudential measures restrict the growth of investment loan portfolios.”
Easing house price growth is sure to be seen as good news for Australian-bound emigrants who are looking to buy a property in the country in the near future. But to make sure you get an even better deal when it comes to purchasing a property, you would be strongly advised to make sure you exchange your pounds into Australian Dollars at the right time.
When exchanging large lump sums, even only slight fluctuations in the currency exchange markets can have a huge impact on the money you’ll have available to start your new life.
The Pound-Australian Dollar exchange rate has risen and fallen dramatically in the past three months alone. For example at the end of the last week £1 would have purchased you AUS$2.078, while at the beginning of December you would have received just AUS$2.037. If you were exchanging £150,000 – say from the sale of your UK home – then this would equate to a difference of AUS$6,200 in a little over a month.
However, go back to the start of November and £1 was worth a three-month high of AUS$2.161, meaning an exchange of £150,000 would have netted you AUS$324,150 – AUS$12,250 more than you would have received last Friday, and over AUS$18,500 then you would have got at the start of December.
Fortunately, you don’t have to be a financial whizz kid to make sure you get the best exchange rate – that’s what companies like Halo Financial are there for.
Foreign exchange companies understand why the exchange rates are moving and just what impact this has on your currency transaction. What’s more, they can also explain how to make your money go further and give you a range options on exactly when you wish to exchange, and how much you should exchange at a time.
To find out how you can make sure you can get the best exchange rate possible, and take advantage of positive fluctuations in the markets, visit www.halofinancial.com