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For months the Reserve Bank of Australia has said it would patiently wait for the consumer price data to confirm that the door was open to rate cuts. It got unambiguous affirmation of that reality from the ABS at 11.30am today.
In the best possible news for Australia’s economy, core inflation printed at just 0.35% in the March quarter. Despite some small upward revisions to last year’s fourth-quarter data, core inflation in Australia is sitting near the bottom of the RBA’s target 2% to 3% per annum band at around 2.2%.
But there is possibly more good news to come. Next quarter the annual inflation numbers will lose the very high underlying inflation print from way back in June 2011. This implies that the annual inflation figures could slide further in the second quarter of 2012.
What does this mean for interest rates? In my last column <a target="_blank" href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/economy/what-inflation-means-for-rba-interest-rates-in-may-christopher-joye/2012042354399">I provided a “cheat sheet” based on a range of different outcomes today</a>, which I have enclosed below. We ended up getting a result that arrived somewhere between the top two rows of my table. As you can see from the right-hand-side column, this connotes a minimum 25-basis-point cut in the RBA’s official target cash rate come May.
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Speculation will mount that the RBA could go even further with a 50-basis-point cut. One of the most persuasive arguments for this action is additional margin expansion by the banking community.
Assuming the RBA cuts by 25 basis points in May, we will have had a total of three cuts, or 75 basis points worth, since November. If the other banks follow ANZ’s six-basis-point hike by a similar margin, the net benefit to Aussie borrowers would have been 55 basis points, or two rate reductions (taking May as given).
Yet the RBA will probably choose to wait until it has the benefit of seeing the Gillard government’s budget after its May meeting. If it does so, its view of the world remains unchanged, and, finally, the banks do not pass on the May cut in its entirety, then the probability of follow-up relief in June would rise materially.
The low inflation numbers deliver the best of all possible worlds for Australia’s torpid housing market. Mortgage rates are currently around their average levels. However, long-term interest rates, as measured by 10 year government bond yields, are at all-time lows. This should allow banks to further cut the cost of fixed-rate home loans, all things being equal.
In addition to lower fixed-rate loans, the 4 million-plus Australian borrowers on variable-rate loans will get a third rate reduction in May with the prospect of a fourth bout of accommodation in June. Given the news on prices today, the RBA will be comfortable pushing lending rates into “stimulatory” territory—that is, levels that are lower than their long-term averages.
The latest auction clearance rate data in the two biggest auction markets, Sydney and Melbourne, suggest that the overall market is travelling okay. Last weekend auction clearance rates in both cities hit circa 60%, according to RP Data. This followed a noticeable slump in clearance rates, and housing conditions more generally, during the traditionally weak Easter period (see chart below).
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In 2012, the Aussie housing market has displayed some signs of stability after the consistent declines experienced during 2011. We forecast this result on the basis of the RBA’s two rate cuts in 2011, although the banks have chiselled away at this relief. The market’s 2012 base is evident in the chart below, which illustrates the 30-day moving average attributable to RP Data-Rismark Eight Capital City Dwellings Index.
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Finally, there are tentative signs of life in zombie-like, ultra-premium part of the market. <a target="_blank" href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/residential/laurie-sutton-the-kingpin-of-sydney-property-as-he-swaps-mosman-for-kalua-in-palm-beach-in-record-setting-sales/2012042354412">It was reported today that a holiday home in Palm Beach sold for a record price well in excess of $20 million</a>, which, if correct, smashes the previous Palm Beach record of around $14 million. This home had only been listed for seven months before it was snapped up. (Disclosure: a related party was involved in the transaction.)
Christopher Joye is a leading financial economist and a director of <a href="https://www.ybr.com.au/savings/index.cfm">Yellow Brick Road Funds Management</a> and Rismark. The above article is not investment advice.
 
 
 
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Interest rate relief now certain for Aussie borrowers: Christopher Joye

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With so much talk about today's ABS inflation data and the potential ramifications this will have for the RBA's rates decision at its May board meeting, I thought I would pull together my own "cheat sheet".  In brief, this guide combines the March quarter "core" inflation numbers with the inflation measured over the preceding three quarters to give a March 2012 year-on-year result. The RBA has become increasingly wary of historical revisions to the ABS's underlying inflation data (known as the "trimmed mean" and "weighted median"), and it is likely to place significant emphasis on the broader results over the last six and 12 months.  By way of background, the RBA has worked hard to prepare the public and financial markets for a cut in May subject to the outcome of the March price data. Predicting a cut if inflation prints low is easy. The much more difficult challenge was anticipating the RBA's decision to hold rates steady in February, March, and April, which caught some experts unawares.  Of the 22 economists polled by Bloomberg (I have also added in the ALP's Stephen Koukoulas), none are predicting an especially high core ("trimmed mean") inflation print: the maximum quarterly estimate is 0.7% from Credit Suisse, JP Morgan, and Nomura (see first chart below). At least seven economists are expecting a relatively low core inflation number of 0.5%. Given the currency appreciation, declining import prices, weak producer prices, and various surveys pointing to benign retail prices, it's possible that inflation is assessed to be even lower than 0.5%.
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Of course, the flipside of this coin would be an upside surprise. Nobody is projecting inflation breaching the top of the RBA's target 2% to 3% per annum band in the March quarter. A positive "surprise" would be anything greater than 0.7%. It is also interesting to observe that the economists' year-on-year expectations are all universally anodyne. Only two houses (Credit Suisse and Nomura) are predicting that the 12 monthly result with hit the mid-point of the RBA's target band at 2.5%, which is where the RBA believes inflation currently stands. Every other forecaster has a year-on-year number below the mid-point of the target band, which opens the door to RBA rate cuts. A curve-ball here are substantial revisions to the third- and fourth-quarter data from last year, which could mean that even with a soft first-quarter number year-on-year inflation stays at or above the mid-point of the RBA's band.
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 The question is then what all of this means for what the RBA (or, more precisely, its board) decide to do in May. I've taken the RBA's latest estimates of core inflation in Australia over 2011 and combined these with a range of hypothetical outcomes in March. I've then offered up my own opinion of what the RBA might do – subject to global events, revisions to past data, and changes to bank lending rates – in the far right-hand-side column.
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Christopher Joye is a leading financial economist and a director of <a href="https://www.ybr.com.au/savings/index.cfm">Yellow Brick Road Funds Management</a> and Rismark. The above article is not investment advice.
 
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What inflation means for RBA interest rates in May: Christopher Joye

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In a not surprising (for readers of this column) attempt to politically pressure Australia's central bank, <a href="https://afr.com/p/national/pm_surplus_can_drive_down_rates_fjKXptC6sJlyBIDEPgt7YI" target="_blank">a major media outlet</a> reports today that the Prime Minister has broken with historical convention – for an incumbent government – and called on the RBA to lower interest rates given the government's mooted fiscal promises. This is after the current Labor government controversially took away the RBA board's pay-setting powers because it was too generous with the governor's salary package, replaced one independent (and hawkish) director with a manufacturing industry lobbyist who describes herself as a "growth girl" and an inflation "dove", and broke with long-term convention by replacing the board's standing independent academic expert (another hawk, Professor Warwick McKibbin, who had offered himself up for re-election) with a former advisor to a Labor prime minister, Paul Keating.  Some have also observed that while the current RBA governor contentiously hiked rates in the final month of the 2007 election campaign as the global financial crisis was brewing – an election that the Liberal Party lost that month – he did not touch rates during the subsequent 2010 campaign despite possessing a hawkish bias, waiting until November to raise them pointedly after Labor had scraped home with a hung parliament. In a panel interview with Bloomberg yesterday, the former RBA board member, McKibbin, described the government’s recent elections to the RBA board as "disconcerting". McKibbin advocated a board structure comprising of three RBA staffers (currently there are only two), three independent economics experts (currently there is one), and three "community representatives" with no politically appointed treasury secretary.  The <a href="https://afr.com/p/national/pm_surplus_can_drive_down_rates_fjKXptC6sJlyBIDEPgt7YI" target="_blank">Australian Financial Review</a> reports that today: “Prime Minister Julia Gillard will aggressively link her budget ­surplus goal directly to lower interest rates, saying that the Reserve Bank of Australia has “plenty of room” to cut its 4.25% cash rate... Her speech to business leaders in Perth will also make the case for a reweighting of monetary policy which could help push down the ­Australian dollar and provide relief to manufacturers, exporters and the tourist industry. In effect putting the political success of next month’s budget into the hands of the Reserve Bank board, Ms Gillard will say that the large ­interest rate differential between ­Australia and offshore markets gives the RBA “plenty of room to move ­further if need be”. The Prime Minister is quoted apparently calling on Australia's central bank to re-focus on its antediluvian 1959 mandate, which requires it to give equal weight to employment, growth and price stability. Since that time, however, the treasurer of the day and the governor of the RBA have signed a total five "<a href="https://www.rba.gov.au/monetary-policy/framework/stmt-conduct-mp-5-30092010" target="_blank">Statements on the Conduct of Monetary Policy</a>" documents that explicitly subordinate the employment and growth goals in the 1959 Act to allow the RBA to focus mainly on one medium-term objective: price stability. Specifically, the latest statement signed by Wayne Swan and Glenn Stevens says (emphasis added): "Since the early 1990s, inflation targeting has formed the basis of Australia's monetary policy framework. Since 1996, this framework has been formalised in a Statement on the Conduct of Monetary Policy. The inflation targeting framework has served Australia well and is reaffirmed in the current statement...  [The three objectives outlined by the 1959 Act] allow the Reserve Bank board to focus on price (currency) stability while taking account of the implications of monetary policy for activity and, therefore, employment in the short term. Price stability is a crucial precondition for sustained growth in economic activity and employment. Both the Reserve Bank and the government agree on the importance of low inflation and low inflation expectations...[and] on the objective of keeping consumer price inflation between 2 and 3%, on average, over the cycle." In today's speech the Prime Minister seems to confuse these priorities. Without having the benefit of the first-quarter inflation results, which are expected to be benign, or revisions to the 2011 inflation numbers, the Prime Minister advocates the employment and growth benefits of lower rates with inflation-targeting added as an after-thought:  “In the current economic environment, should the RBA consider it appropriate to change the cash rate, this could deliver widespread benefits for households and business – noting that a number of sectors of the economy most under strain are arguably more sensitive to interest rates...This is fully consistent with the Reserve Bank’s charter obligations to best contribute to economic prosperity and full employment, as well as containing inflation.” One problem for the RBA is, as McKibbin explained yesterday, that the current government's forecasts and commitments to fiscal contraction are already accounted for in the central bank's analysis (since Treasury have always projected a steep fiscal consolidation following a fiscal stimulus that McKibbin believes was twice as large as it needed to be) and are, in any event, merely political promises. At the invitation-only Bloomberg conference, McKibbin argued that the RBA would be far more focused on what policies the government actually delivers given its history of missing commitments. He also suggested that it was unreasonable to ask the RBA to make decisions today on the basis of assumed budget outcomes before it had the benefit of both seeing what is promised on the May 8 and what the government ultimately delivers.
Christopher Joye is a leading financial economist and a director of <a href="https://www.ybr.com.au/savings/index.cfm">Yellow Brick Road Funds Management</a> and Rismark. The above article is not investment advice.
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Australian Prime Minister politicises the RBA – again: Christopher Joye

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Last Tuesday I predicted ANZ would hike rates by between five basis points and 7.5 basis points, and noted that this could be a bit of a game-changer for the RBA’s May meeting. 
On Friday the bank lifted them by six. While this is bad news for ANZ borrowers, it was a commercially astute decision for the bank and its shareholders for a variety of reasons. 
First, Friday’s hike will improve the bank’s profit margins, which is important for banks in an environment in which revenues are growing slowly and the historical returns on shareholder equity will be difficult to maintain.
Second, it starkly reinforces ANZ’s (superficial) argument that there is a big conceptual disconnect between the lending rates banks set and the cash rate that the RBA targets. 
As I have shown before, this is more fiction than fact and confuses changes in profit margins with the actual level of lending rates. To be sure, changes in funding costs will directly affect profit margins, unless product prices are varied accordingly. The question then turns to what “reasonable” and “competitive market” profit margins should look like. That is a debate I’ve tried to stimulate for years, but it remains largely unresolved. 
In terms of the actual level of borrowing rates, the RBA is, on average, the ultimate arbiter of the price of money in the Australian economy. 
The third factor that makes ANZ’s decision smart is that it amplifies the pressure on the RBA to cut rates in May. To be clear, a rate cut is by no means certain. If we get a high “core” or “underlying” quarterly inflation print on April 24 of 0.8% or more, and the historical inflation data does not revise down (or revises up), then the chances are that the RBA will leave rates unchanged. 
Upping the ante on the RBA to drop rates further in May is important to the banks for two reasons. First, it gives them another bite at the profit expansion cherry: they can choose not to pass on the full 25-basis-point RBA cut and internalise this as margin. 
In 2012 ANZ has taken back about 60% of the RBA’s second, December rate cut. But actual lending rates are still lower than they were at the end of November, and will be lower again should the RBA be convinced that it can justify pulling its trigger finger a third time. 
A second reason why the banks want a rate cut in May is because, all things being equal, banks do better in lower interest rate environments. Credit growth and revenues accelerate, default rates and impairments typically decline, and asset prices and hence collateral values rise. 
A final point to recognise is that wider bank margins will probably help encourage more competition in the long run. It will give nimbler players with lower cost bases (but higher absolute funding charges) a better chance of competing with the major bank oligopoly, which has numerous institutionalised advantages.
Christopher Joye is a leading financial economist and a director of <a href="https://www.ybr.com.au/savings/index.cfm">Yellow Brick Road Funds Management</a> and Rismark. The above article is not investment advice.
 
 
 
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Banks seeking RBA interest rate cut too: Christopher Joye

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Following on from ANZ raising its interest rates on Friday, I've summarised the results of Bloomberg's RBA cash rate survey into the chart below. Bloomberg has polled 24 economists after ANZ's decision, and I've shown the high/low forecast for each period in addition to the "median" (middle observation) and "average".
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The "median" (red line) economist expects a 0.25 percentage point (or "basis point") rate cut in May followed by interest rate stability until the first quarter of next year. The median then forecasts one hike back to 4.25% in 2013. My own May forecast is currently a "more likely than not" 25-basis-point cut subject to the inflation results on the 24th, which could stay the RBA's hand. 
The "average" economist prediction (orange line) is very similar: the average thinks there is a chance the RBA does not cut in May, albeit this is a slim prospect given the average expectation is 4.03% by May. The average then thinks there is a non-zero chance of a total of two rate cuts this year, and prices in a cash rate of 3.92% until the fourth quarter.  The average subsequently starts pricing in rate hikes in 2013. 
The dotted lines in the chart show the highest and lowest forecasts. The lowest any of the 24 economists surveyed see the cash rate going is 3.75%, which implies two more cuts. In contrast, the highest see no cuts at all this year, and a first hike by Q1 next year. 
It is always good to condition one's analysis to extreme "outliers" (i.e., a Steve Keen-style scenario). One such outlier, who was not included in the Bloomberg poll, is the ALP-aligned economist Stephen Koukoulas. Prior to ANZ's decision to hike on Friday, and the strong labour market result last week that the unemployment rate was unchanged at 5.2%, Koukoulas forecast the RBA would cut by a massive 50 basis points in May (he admittedly also forecast rate cuts in February and in April). 
Koukoulas has naturally reaffirmed his 50-basis-point cut call for May following ANZ's small rate hike on Friday, although, technically, the RBA would have to cut by more than 50 basis points to satisfy his pre-ANZ views (i.e., by 56 basis points). Koukoulas thinks we will have lots of cuts going forward – many more than any of the 24 economists polled by Bloomberg. Specifically, he declares: "Get set for a 50 cut in May and probably more cuts in the second half of 2012." If this comes to pass, it will be great news for housing investors.
Christopher Joye is a leading financial economist and a director of <a href="https://www.ybr.com.au/savings/index.cfm">Yellow Brick Road Funds Management</a> and Rismark. The above article is not investment advice.
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Economists expect one more interest rate cut in 2012: Christopher Joye

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So let’s get a few things crystal-clear upfront – I don’t want there to be any confusion. First, contrary to what you will read in the newspaper, the RBA has no idea what it is going to do with rates in May right now. 
Second, nor do the economists and commentators that like to fill the informational void with their subjective opinions on this stuff. 
Third, I would personally be over-the-moon if the first quarter inflation data printed very low, and gave our central bank room to cut rates and stimulate growth. That is, to push the unemployment rate down even lower than its current 5.2% level without risking the RBA’s inflation target. 
With that prologue out of the way, let me say that the certainty with which some analysts and commentators purport to be able to predict the RBA’s decisions weeks and months in advance of determinative data never ceases to amaze me. 
A few days ago almost everyone was predicting an RBA rate cut in May. The market had, as usual, over-egged it, with a 100% probability priced. One analyst even announced this week that the RBA would cut not once in May, but twice, or by 50 basis points in total. 
I’ve been more circumspect for the basic reason that I have listened to what the RBA has repeatedly told us: all else being equal, it is, quite reasonably, not touching rates until it gets the next batch of quarterly inflation data on the 24th of April. This is why I was relatively confident that--barring any unexpected disasters--the RBA would leave rates unchanged in February, March, and April. 
One is left to surmise that the pundits predicting a rate cut(s) in May and/or June must have a very high degree of faith in their quantitative forecasts for Australia’s underlying inflation rate during the first three months of 2012, and, just as importantly, the revisions the ABS makes to the 2011 results. 
In this context, I reckon I know one of the country’s best inflation forecasters. And I also know what his standard errors look like. The bottom line is that once you account for a bit of chance, anything could happen on the 24th. (Now don’t forget my riders upfront!) 
I would implore those proclaiming most loudly what the RBA will do in May, June and months thereafter to reflect on what the boss of the central bank, Glenn Stevens, recently described as his “first rule of forecasting”: don’t forecast! 
My current RBA logic is pretty straightforward. First, the RBA has more or less declared that it has given up on “pre-emptive” policy-setting, and certainly so in respect of rate hikes. 
As I’ve said before, lifting rates is hard yakka when the community has got used to 20-plus years of uninterrupted economic growth and mostly low and steady inflation. The problem is that generations of Australians have forgotten that the average mortgage rate between 1980 and 1995 was 12.6%. Imagine paying that much for a home loan today! You would have conniptions. In January 1990 mortgage rates soared as high as 17%. But since 1995 the average variable rate has only been 7.4%. And that’s mainly because the RBA has kept the pace of consumer price inflation to between 2% and 3% per annum (give or take). 
For the last year or so I’ve expressed my concerns about the RBA’s political independence, and the fact that the bank itself is worried about the integrity of its price stability mandate in the wider community.
These anxieties appear increasingly justified given mounting criticisms of RBA decisions and calls from leading stakeholders for the government to change the way the RBA acts. Of course, this government has already controversially taken the RBA board’s pay-setting powers away from it (because Swannie felt the governor was getting too much), and has stacked the board with appointees it believes will be less zealous about inflation-fighting. 
And all of this has occurred at a time when the labour market is near fully employed, borrowing rates are around their 15-year averages, private investment is at record highs, and the economy continues to expand. 
The RBA has shifted away from “forecasting” towards what the governor calls “<a target="_blank" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nowcasting_(economics)">nowcasting</a>”. That is, sitting back and watching the hard empirical data flow through, and trying, to the best of its ability, to work out what the pulse of growth and inflation look like in the present (or recent past). When it comes to forecasting inflation, past outcomes are, in fact, one of your best guides. 
Politically, the powerful thing about “nowcasting” is that it is externally explicable. The RBA knows it is never going to convince the community or, nowadays, its own board, about the reliability of its long-term inflation guesses. The second-best alternative, therefore, is to set policy based on the highest-quality information it has about what is happening right now. 
So how, then, should one think about the probabilities around May? Well, the RBA tells us (if we listen) that it has one main policy goal, which is its 2% to 3% per annum, through-the-cycle, "inflation target". 
By the RBA's own logic, it can cut rates in May if the first-quarter inflation data suggests the underlying pulse of consumer price pressures is advancing at less than the mid-point of its target band. 
In principle, if core inflation prints at 0.7% or higher, and the six- and 12-month core measures are also above 2.5%, the RBA should not be cutting rates in May. Clearly, the converse is also true. 
Here it is useful to remember that the deputy governor of the RBA told parliamentarians in February that “our central forecast has unemployment drifting up to around 5.5%”. And this was said after two rate cuts and a bit of currency depreciation. 
Instead, the unemployment rate has remained stubbornly steady at around 5.2% with leading indicators, such as job advertisements and the various business surveys, implying that employment growth will improve a bit. Indeed, ANZ have published an analysis of the latest labour force data and concluded that the unemployment rate may have peaked. 
The chart from ANZ below shows the 12-month change in the unemployment rate (orange line) plotted against the 12-month change in GDP (blue line). You can see what the RBA and many analysts have long suspected: the unemployment rate is a far less volatile indicator of economic growth than the point estimate that is outputted by the ABS via its National Accounts calculations.
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ANZ argues (as I have) that the fact that Australia’s unemployment rate has remained basically unchanged since the middle of 2011 suggests that the economy is probably tracking close to its trend rate of growth. It just so happens that another key proxy for growth, NAB’s business conditions index, is also close to trend. 
Given it takes one to two years for rate changes today to have their full impact on activity, and given what the sweep of data tell us about current activity, the only credible basis for a rate cut in May is an unambiguous sign that inflation is lower than it needs to be. But until we get the hard data on the 24th of April, all the guesses as to what the RBA may or may not do (excuse the pun) are pure noise. That is, irrelevant speculation. 
There are two risks to this analysis. One possibility is that the RBA is politically pressured into cutting even with a high inflation print because of the numerical dominance of the six doves and a politically appointed treasury secretary on its board. I think this is a low probability risk, but a risk nonetheless. Now is as good a time as any to make a statement about your independence for the benefit of folks like Paul Howes. 
Another is that ANZ and the other banks lift lending rates in the interim, which gives the RBA an “excuse” to cut rates in May even with a high inflation print if only to neutralise the change in lending rates. I think it is entirely possible that ANZ will indeed nudge up its rates today, which makes tactical and strategic sense for reasons I have discussed previously. This would tilt my rate probabilities further towards a cut, subject to what the 24th tells us.
Christopher Joye is a leading financial economist and a director of <a href="https://www.ybr.com.au/savings/index.cfm">Yellow Brick Road Funds Management</a> and Rismark. The above article is not investment advice.
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The RBA has no idea what it will do with rates in May as it focuses on ‘nowcasting’: Christopher Joye

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Economist Christopher Joye gives his take on today's employment data, which he says was a surprise to many economists. 
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Christopher Joye's video take on today's unemployment data: RBA rate decision countdown

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Looking at RP Data-Rismark’s daily hedonic home value index, which is also published by the Australian Stock Exchange, we can see that the “stabilisation” evident in Australia’s housing market in 2012 has galvanized further during the month of April.
Australian home values are now in the black for the first time in 2012, having fully recovered from the drop recorded during the seasonally-weak month of January.
At 10 April 2012 home values across the eight capital cities had risen by 0.3% above their end 2011 levels (see first chart below).
<img src="/images/stories/joyebanks4101.jpg">
The improvement in housing conditions can also be viewed through the rolling one-month, six-month and 12-month returns, which simply reflect the raw capital growth, exclusive of any rents, realised over the period in question.
My second chart illustrates that analysis.
While year-on-year returns (blue line) have flat-lined at around -4% we can see more clearly the effect of the recent house price growth on the six-monthly (red line) and monthly returns (green line), which are heading towards or are above the horizontal x-axis that denotes zero growth.
<img src="/images/stories/joyebanks4102.jpg">
One key takeaway from the chart above is that the month-on-month change in Aussie home values has been positive since February and remains in the black as we head into the second half of April. The crucial question is what will happen in the remainder of the year. In late 2011 I forecast that Australian home values would stop falling in the first quarter of 2012 and we would possibly see a return to capital growth, which is the way it has panned out. The good news for housing investors is that the financial markets are putting a near certain (or close to 100%) probability on a third RBA rate cut in May – and some think we might get another in June. As regular readers would know, I did not expect the bank to cut rates last month – or in the preceding two months – given that I deduced that they would want to wait until they got the all-important ABS inflation data at the end of April. The RBA is fond of establishing subtle decision-rules or offering guidance on the future direction of policy if inflation, employment and growth behave in certain ways. After its uneventful April meeting the RBA clearly communicated that it would trim rates in May if it got a weak inflation read for the first quarter of 2012. Analysts have subsequently inferred that to mean the RBA will cut rates if core or underlying inflation prints at less than or equal to 0.6% -- or under 2.5% annualised. Yet the market seems to be overlooking the fact that the RBA will want to “look through” the volatile, and frequently revised, quarterly information, towards the six-monthly and yearly prints. So in that context a May rate cut will likely rely on the six- and 12-monthly outcomes being somewhere between 2.0% and 2.5% on an annualised basis. If they somehow come out in the top half of the RBA’s target 2-3% band it is hard to see how the central bank will relax rates barring further offshore disasters or a big jump in the jobless rate. With the bank estimating that core inflation is right in the middle of its target band - albeit before the full effect of the November and December rate cuts - the core numbers would have to print very high in the first quarter of 2012, and/or the ABS would have to upwardly revise the remaining 2011 data in order for us to see an adverse result (given the advantage of being able to discard the high March 2011 number from the annual time-series).
With the above in mind I would not attach a 100% or even 90% probability to a rate cut in May. It is more than likely but will depend on the pulse of price pressures during the past 12 months. Another thorny question for the RBA is what it would do if the year-on-year inflation data prints just below the mid-point of its target band but the six-monthly average is above it. The RBA might be swayed by the argument that with the Aussie dollar off 4-5% from its recent peaks the economy is already getting the benefit of some extra stimulation that is tantamount to half a rate cut. The flipside of that currency depreciation is imported inflation as opposed to imported deflation, where the latter had been influential in keeping overall price pressures in check via low tradeables and goods price growth. A final curveball is what the banks do with their margins. We have ANZ’s decision on Friday this week. If I was the CEO of a major bank I would definitely bump up lending rates by a good 5.0 to 7.5 basis points. Why? First, because you will boost your net interest margins in an environment in which profits are going to be hard to come by due to structurally low credit growth – funding costs have been falling since January. A second reason to widen margins is to amplify pressure on the RBA to neutralise that change in lending rates in May. All else being equal banks do better in low interest rate climates. Asset prices rise, credit growth accelerates and impairments decline. So the banks will want to see the RBA cutting in May and bumping up margins in April will increase the probability of that happening. Borrowers are still better off because the RBA ordinarily moves in 25 basis point increments. A final reason to expand margins is simply because, as an oligopolist, you can! From a margin extraction point of view the banks need to break the back of the purported link between the RBA’s target cash rate and actual, economy-wide lending rates. While the link will always exist in practice (ie, notwithstanding what people may want you to believe), the banks should rationally want to improve their ability to freely profit maximize without annoying politicians and commentators interfering with their decision-making processes, as has been the case of late.
Christopher Joye is a leading financial economist and a director of <a href="https://www.ybr.com.au/savings/index.cfm">Yellow Brick Road Funds Management</a> and Rismark. The above article is not investment advice.
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Banks on track to bump house rates: Christopher Joye

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Since the average Australian family’s debt-to-income ratio has risen from 55% in the early 1990s to around 150% today, they’ve become vastly more sensitive to changes in interest rates. Combine that with the fact that most Australian borrowers are on fully adjustable-rate loans that usually price off the RBA’s target rate, and you start to realise that Australia’s central bank is facing significant, and perhaps uniquely acute, community resistance to higher rates. (Never mind that numerically speaking there are actually more savers than borrowers.)

This situation is exacerbated by the highly telescoped nature of Australian economic growth. The newly-appointed and self-described “dove” on the RBA board, Heather Ridout, highlighted this on radio during week: around 80% of the Aussie economy is expanding at an insipid 1% pace while the remaining 20% races along at a spectacular 15% rate. Framed differently, four out of five Australian businesses want rate cuts while one-fifth don’t really care. It’s like the awesome-foursome have one guy rowing at top speed while the remaining three have been given lead oars.
And then we have the government of the day in periodic conflict with Australia’s embattled central bank. For decades the convention was that the independent members of the RBA’s board set staff pay. While the RBA is part-regulator of, and explicit lender of last resort to, the entire banking system, and many of its alumni have held high office in the private sector, top staff are still paid only a fraction of what they could earn elsewhere.
Possibly because of well-documented clashes between the RBA and the government during the GFC (over the 2008 rate hikes and the deposit guarantees), and the subsequent spectre of an overly hawkish RBA eager to raise rates during 2010-2011, Treasurer Wayne Swan broke with his predecessors’ convention and took away the RBA board’s pay-setting powers. At the same time, he promised that future governors would not receive Glenn Stevens’s ‘out-of-step’ $1 million pay packet (ignoring the fact that the average top=10 major bank executive gets about four to five times as much).
Some believe that a parallel assault on the RBA’s independence and credibility was the replacement of the two main “hawks”, or inflation-fighters, on the bank’s board—Professor Warwick McKibbin and Donald McGauchie—with a manufacturing industry lobbyist, Heather Ridout, who says she prioritises growth over inflation, and a former Labor economic advisor, John Edwards. The appointment of Edwards broke the multi-decade tradition of having at least one politically-independent academic expert sitting on the bank’s board.
Professor McKibbin’s regular criticisms of the government’s general policy initiatives doubtless helped convince them that the political costs of elevating academics to the RBA board outweighed the clear governance benefits.
Indeed, it would not be a complete surprise to see Julia Gillard’s recently departed staffer and noted RBA critic, Stephen Koukoulas, one day join Edwards (or replace him), assuming Labor still have the power to make this change.
Koukoulas notably characterised this month’s RBA decision as “candy-arsed”, and has been vociferous in his condemnation of the RBA for not cutting in February.
In light of the dynamics described, it should be no surprise that the community has been baying for cuts. The Australian and The Australian Financial Review collectively published four opinion pieces immediately before this week’s RBA meeting calling on the bank to ease its policy position.
News Limited’s Terry McCrann also chimed in declaring that the odds of an April cut were better than 50%, and, more remarkably, that if the RBA governor recommended another pause, which he did, the doves on the board would roll him. In doing so, McCrann acknowledged for the first time that there had been occasional battles on the RBA board when the numerically-dominant doves had knocked-back staff recommendations to hike rates, which is something I argued occurred in 2011.
Following the RBA’s decision to wait for the first quarter inflation data, we have been overwhelmed with columnists from The Australian and The AFR confidently calling a cut in May, and lambasting the bank for misjudging the pulse of growth.
Of course, much of this is predicated on one unusually low GDP print in the fourth quarter of last year. People seem to forget that these numbers can be revised by stunning margins. For example, in the first quarter of 2011 the ABS told us that the economy had contracted by a horrific -1.2% as a consequence of the east coast floods. The latest estimate is a radically more benign -0.3%. It is not inconceivable that the fourth quarter GDP will revise up to signal healthier growth at the end of last year.
As UBS’s Matt Johnson argues, the growth data tends to revise towards the unemployment rate, which at its current 5.2% level seems to paint a more positive picture.
Those that want lower rates overlook a few other key points.  Namely that:
<ul>
<li>The RBA cut twice only months ago, a move most assess takes 1-2 years to have its full effect; </li>
<li>The currency is now 5% below its level at the beginning of March, and, if it keeps falling, will become a source of inflation rather than deflation; </li>
<li>Australia has high “services” (as opposed to “goods”) and non-tradeables (as opposed to “tradeables”) inflation, with tradeables and goods inflation having been depressed only by the appreciation in the currency; </li>
<li>The unemployment rate remains just a touch above the Treasury’s estimate of its ‘full-employment’ level, and has been bobbing around this mark for a year; </li>
<li>Mortgage rates are actually at or below their long-term averages; </li>
<li>Core inflation is still smack-bang in the middle of the RBA’s target band (not below it), and that this is partly a result of the RBA’s historic rate settings; </li>
<li>We have a carbon tax being implemented this year that many experts think will be more inflationary than the government and RBA forecasts imply; </li>
<li>Productivity looks low and threatens to boost inflation above the RBA’s target band unless it improves; </li>
<li>The two largest economies in the world, the US and China, are currently growing around their trend pace; </li>
<li>The global environment is materially better than the RBA had banked on back in December; and </li>
<li>Central banks around the world have printed over US$8 trillion of new money to underwrite government deficits and bail-out private banks, which history suggests, can be inflationary.</li>
</ul>
I think one under-appreciated problem for the RBA is that it is discovering just how hard it is to raise rates beyond their neutral level following the regime-change in the economy’s interest rate elasticity during the 1990s and 2000s. After more than 20 years of relatively low inflation (care of China flooding global product markets with cheap goods), there are entire generations of Australians who cannot remember what it was like to have high inflation and double digit rates. And these people vote. In 2011 the RBA executive learnt that it no longer controlled its own board, as Ian MacFarlane had done during his easier and more stable reign. Following the governance revolution implemented by a much more open-minded Glenn Stevens, the RBA has unwittingly empowered the vested interests that dominate its board.
With six private sector representatives and a politically-appointed treasury secretary, the RBA has arguably the most inflation-friendly monetary policy committee of any central bank in the developed world. It also just happens to have one of the highest inflation targets in the world, and, just coincidentally, has failed to meet this target during Glenn Stevens’ term (core inflation has average 3.2% per annum since the December quarter of 2006).
Given the decision-making constraints the RBA faces, and the fact that it believes it has one main policy goal (price stability), which is spun into a “dual mandate” in the long-run (by arguing that if it keeps inflation low it will help maximize employment growth), logic would suggest that it should cautiously, and only when persuaded with reliable empirical evidence, lower the price of money to stimulatory levels. To be clear, this is because normalising it again, and pushing rates into restrictive territory, is a vastly more difficult undertaking.
Years ago I argued that given the RBA’s questionable inflation-fighting track-record since Stevens’ term began, and the abovementioned limitations, it should potentially have an asymmetric response function: all things being equal, the RBA should prefer to slightly undershoot rather than slightly overshoot its inflation target. In practice, the opposite has proven to be the case.
Don’t get me wrong: if year-on-year core inflation prints near the bottom of the RBA’s target band in a few weeks time, and the labour market deteriorates further, this central bank will be almost certainly cutting rates in May.
While the lay fans in the stands may not embrace the decision-making fortitude I advocate here, RBA officials can draw strength from the fact that history tends to be a more impartial judge.
Christopher Joye is a leading financial economist and a director of <a href="https://www.ybr.com.au/savings/index.cfm">Yellow Brick Road Funds Management</a> and Rismark. The above article is not investment advice.
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The RBA has unwittingly empowered the vested interests that dominate its board

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Christopher Joye's video take on the April RBA decision

Roseville is poised for a wave of new apartment development following the NSW Government's rezoning of land around Roseville Station under its Transport Oriented Development program.

The new planning controls have unlocked significant development potential within walking distance of the station, with a number of sites expected to be amalgamated and redeveloped in the coming years as developers seek to take advantage of the increased density allowances.

One of the more restrained developments in the precinct, and set among the first to be delivered having commenced well before the recent changes, is Hyecorp's Juliet. The boutique apartment project is already well under construction and remains on track to welcome residents by the end of the year, offering a markedly different proposition to many of the larger-scale developments now likely to emerge across the suburb.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=7395 project_image_fid=278194]

<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/juliet-roseville-64-pacific-highway-roseville-nsw-2069">Juliet</a> will comprise just&nbsp;34 one-, two-, and three-bedroom apartments opposite Roseville Station. For Hyecorp, which has delivered projects across Sydney's Lower North Shore for more than three decades, Roseville presented a rare opportunity to address a growing gap in the market.

"<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developments/roseville-nsw-2069">Roseville</a> has long been one of the North Shore's most tightly held and desirable suburbs, offering a unique combination of village charm, established greenery, excellent transport connections, and proximity to some of Sydney's best schools and lifestyle amenities," Hyecorp said.

"We recognised a growing demand from local homeowners seeking to downsize without leaving the community they have built their lives around. The location presented a rare opportunity to create homes that cater specifically to that buyer profile."

[smartcode_project:default project_id=7395 project_image_fid=278196]

The six-level development has been designed by <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/architects/pbd-architects">PBD Architects</a> as a collection of residences that feel more like homes than apartments. The brief centred generous floorplans, abundant natural light, quality finishes, and strong connections to outdoor space.

PBD Architects drew inspiration from Roseville's established garden suburb character, creating a building that sits comfortably within its surroundings rather than dominating them. The architecture incorporates natural materials, soft forms, layered landscaping, expansive balconies, and generous setbacks to strengthen the connection between residents and the suburb's leafy environment.

"The focus was on designing spacious, house-like residences for discerning owner-occupiers and downsizers who wanted to remain on the North Shore without compromising on comfort, privacy, or design," PBD said.&nbsp;

"Every apartment was to feel considered, timeless, and highly functional."

[smartcode_project:default project_id=7395 project_image_fid=278195]

Inside, residences feature engineered timber flooring, stone kitchen benchtops and splashbacks, integrated Fisher &amp; Paykel appliances, ducted air conditioning, and large outdoor entertaining areas designed to take advantage of district and treetop views.

Residents will also have access to a rooftop barbecue and lounge area, alongside practical amenities including parcel lockers, EV charging capability, bicycle storage, a dog wash bay, and a basement car wash facility.

The majority of purchasers so far have been local owner-occupiers from Roseville, Lindfield, Chatswood, Killara, and the broader Upper North Shore, many of whom are transitioning from larger family homes.

"Buyers are looking for spacious, house-like apartments that allow them to downsize without feeling like they are sacrificing comfort or functionality," Hyecorp noted.

"They value large kitchens, generous living areas, ample storage, quality finishes, secure parking, lift access, and low-maintenance living."

[smartcode_project:default project_id=7395 project_image_fid=278204]

Juliet sits directly opposite Roseville Train Station and within walking distance of Roseville Village, while Chatswood's retail and dining precinct is only minutes away. The development is also surrounded by some of Sydney's most established schools, including Roseville College, Ravenswood, Pymble Ladies' College, and Knox Grammar, as well as nearby parklands and golf courses.

Juliet is currently more than 75 per cent sold ahead of its anticipated completion in late 2026.

[smartcode_project_cta:default project_id=7395]

Joel Robinson

Juliet to sit quietly amid Roseville apartment boom

Sherpa Property Group has unveiled the third instalment of its Flourish series, securing full approval for the two-tower, $500 million Flourish Soleira development in Palm Beach.

<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/flourish-soleira-1150-1154-gold-coast-highway-palm-beach-qld-4221">Flourish Soleira</a> will rise from a prominent site in the commercial heart of Palm Beach, the long-time home of Cash Converters and a range of local retailers.

The project will introduce a new retail and dining precinct at ground level, beneath 286 apartments.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=150017 project_image_fid=370959]

“We’re very committed to not only providing affordable residential offerings that are much needed in Palm Beach, but also delivering a vibrant new commercial heart that complements the extraordinary growth of the southern Gold Coast,” Sherpa Property Group founder Christie Leet said.

The development will sit under Sherpa's Flourish brand, which is aimed at providing a pathway into the beachside suburb for locals, first-home buyers and downsizers. In a move designed to assist first-home buyers entering the market, Sherpa has reserved all one and two-bedroom, one-bathroom apartments exclusively for eligible first-home buyers.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=150017 project_image_fid=370964]

“Our vision through Flourish is to create a vibrant retail and lifestyle focal point within the Palm Beach centre zone, delivering thriving communities underpinned by lifestyle-rich locations,” Leet said.

“So far, Flourish has been an incredible success, and we hope to carry this momentum as we progress the next two Flourish projects in Palm Beach.”

[smartcode_project:default project_id=150017 project_image_fid=371430]

Located across 1150-1164 Gold Coast Highway and 3 Sixth Avenue, the development will comprise two towers. The northern tower will deliver 154 apartments, while the southern tower will add a further 132 residences, helping address ongoing demand for new apartments in the tightly held coastal suburb.

Flourish Soleira will also feature the most extensive rooftop amenity offering ever delivered in Palm Beach.

The two towers will be connected by a skybridge, with residents gaining access to a rooftop recreation deck featuring a full-width swimming pool, hot and cold plunge pools, wellness spaces, a gymnasium, private dining facilities, massage treatment rooms, barbecue areas, a basketball court, golf simulator, indoor and outdoor dining spaces, sun lounges and extensive landscaping.

LPS Group is expected to start construction later this year.

Sherpa is already well advanced on construction of its debut Flourish project, Flourish Amargo, located just around the corner from Soleira. Meanwhile, Flourish Oasis, positioned opposite Amargo, recently commenced construction and has nearly sold out its collection of 47 apartments.

[smartcode_project_cta:default project_id=150017]

Sherpa unveils $500m mixed-use Palm Beach precinct, Flourish Soleira

Are mortgage holders set to get a reprieve from the RBA in 2026?

Big Four bank NAB believes so. They are now expecting the next move from the RBA to be a cut, rather than a hike, which they had pencilled in for August. They are unsure of the timing of the cut however, they note in their latest&nbsp;NAB Economics RBA Watch.

NAB Chief Economist, Dr Sally Auld, said recent data suggests the economy has lost momentum and the outlook for rates has shifted, noting that the broader economic backdrop has changed since earlier in the year.

“The next move in the cash rate is likely to be down, but the timing is uncertain," Dr Auld said.

"In February, growth was above trend, the economy was operating above capacity and there was uncertainty over the restrictiveness of rates. None of these conditions exist today,” she outlined.

Dr Auld said recent data pointed to softer momentum across the economy while acknowledging that at the same time, uncertainty remains a key feature of the outlook.

“Both Q1 GDP data and the NAB business survey suggest momentum in the economy has slowed, meaning that growth has likely peaked for the cycle. That said, we are cognisant there is still considerable uncertainty around the outlook, both with respect to activity and inflation.”

Dr Auld said inflation risks and labour market outcomes would be important to watch.

“On the prices side, we are still forecasting above target core inflation through to mid-2027. Margins will compress and weaker labour market outcomes are a risk.”

She said tighter financial conditions are expected to weigh on housing and activity.

“Tighter financial conditions will be reflected in a slowing in house price growth and housing credit growth. In summary, we have greater conviction that the next move in rates is down, but less conviction on the timing.”

Mortgage relief? NAB forecasts RBA rate cut, not hike, after softer economic conditions

A local downsizer has splashed $6.5 million on a penthouse in Perifa's Alex &amp; Willow development in Crows Nest. 
&nbsp; 
The purchaser sold their long-held family home in the area before embarking on a six-month search for the right apartment. After inspecting a range of options across the Lower North Shore, the buyer returned to <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/alex-willow-crows-nest-82-90-alexander-street-crows-nest-nsw-2065">Alex &amp; Willow</a>. 
&nbsp; 
The buyer profile reflects the project’s broader purchaser mix. <a>Alex &amp; Willow</a> has attracted predominantly local downsizers looking to transition from larger homes without compromising on space or quality, alongside a smaller cohort of upsizers and investors drawn to the project’s location and design credentials. 
&nbsp; 
The milestone sale comes as the project, developed by&nbsp;<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developers/perifa">Perifa</a>&nbsp;and delivered by <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/builders/versatile-made-construction">Versatile Construction</a>, both part of Versatile Group, reaches 60 per cent sold.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=6680 project_image_fid=371325] 
&nbsp; 
Eddie Mansour, Managing Partner of <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/project-marketer/ray-white-projects">Ray White Projects</a>, said the result demonstrates not only a headline price but also depth of demand. 
&nbsp; 
“This is an exceptional outcome and a clear reflection of sustained buyer demand for premium, well-located downsizer product,” Mansour said.

“We’re seeing a consistent pattern of local homeowners selling family residences and reinvesting into high-quality apartments that allow them to remain within their community. Alex &amp; Willow has resonated strongly with this group because it offers genuine scale, thoughtful design and immediate proximity to the village.” 
&nbsp; 
The sale reflects a broader and consistent trend of local downsizers actively seeking high-quality, low-maintenance residences close to established village centres. Agents report that demand for this product type has remained resilient, particularly where developments offer a rare combination of scale, design quality and walkable amenity. 
&nbsp;&nbsp; 
Fabrizio Perilli, Managing Director of Perifa and Versatile Group, said the sale marks a defining moment for the project. 
&nbsp; 
“The penthouse sale is a strong endorsement of the quality we have delivered, alongside our partners, and the clear demand from local downsizers for premium, boutique residences in this location,” Perilli said.&nbsp; 
&nbsp; 
“Most importantly, we’re proud to see the Alex &amp; Willow community beginning to take shape. As we move closer to completion, we’re looking forward to welcoming residents and seeing the project come to life.”&nbsp;

[smartcode_project:default project_id=6680 project_image_fid=338516] 
&nbsp; 
Designed by <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/architects/nettletontribe">Nettleton Tribe</a> with interiors by <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/interior-designers/richards-stanisich">Richards Stanisich</a>, Alex &amp; Willow is a boutique collection of generously sized two- and three-bedroom residences in the heart of Crows Nest village.&nbsp;

Completion is slated for early 2027.

[smartcode_project_cta:default project_id=6680]

Alex & Willow, Crows Nest penthouse sells off the plan for $6.5 million

Fresh from launching the first stage of its Wollongong precinct, <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/keira-place-wollongong-120-122-smith-street-wollongong-nsw-2500">Keira Place</a>, builder-developer Urban Property Group has unveiled plans for the next phase of the masterplanned community.

Now on public exhibition through the NSW Government's Housing Delivery Authority pathway is a State Significant Development Application for a further 657 homes on the prominent gateway site opposite Beaton Park.

The proposal comprises three buildings, including two build-to-sell towers rising 25 and 30 storeys, delivering 391 apartments, alongside a 12-storey co-living building with 266 residences, making it one of the largest co-living proposals currently planned in regional New South Wales.

Of the apartments proposed in the build-to-sell towers, the majority, 310, are two-bedroom dwellings. The balance comprises 44 one-bedroom apartments and 37 three-bedroom residences. Apartment sizes range from around 50 sqm for one-bedroom homes to approximately 90 sqm for three-bedroom apartments.

<img alt="Smith St" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="19347059-1612-41a0-9c74-b86a657237f8" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Screenshot%202026-06-10%20at%2010.02.18%E2%80%AFAM.png?VersionId=sWXnaCcA.cIC6N8YT1dg5pJ2e1V3Z6z7" />

The submission says the proposal has evolved significantly from its original Housing Delivery Authority application following extensive consultation with the State Design Review Panel and Wollongong City Council.

The final scheme has been designed to align with the emerging vision for the Flinders Street Precinct, an area identified by Council as a future high-density mixed-use neighbourhood capable of accommodating substantial housing growth close to transport, employment and community infrastructure.

According to the design report prepared by COX Architecture, the development aims to "deliver a built outcome consistent with the future character of the Wollongong CBD while responding to the site's unique constraints and opportunities."

"Our vision for the next phase of the site evolution in Wollongong is grounded in three design pillars that guide the design response: place, natural environment and celebration," COX said.

"Inspired by its surroundings and grounded in the stories of place on Wodi Wodi Country, the design proposal acknowledges the established character of its setting while creating a unique and timeless identity that sits harmoniously within it.

"The design proposal responds to its specific site conditions, acknowledging the vegetation, climate, wind conditions and solar access of the site."

The architecture responds directly to the site's position between Wollongong's urban core and its natural landscape setting.

COX identified views towards Mount Keira and the Illawarra Escarpment as defining features of the site, while the upper levels of the towers will also capture expansive views across the city and out to the Pacific Ocean.

The design team has positioned the tallest buildings closer to the rail corridor, where overshadowing impacts can be better managed while establishing a landmark built form on the northern approach into the city.

<img alt="Smith St" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="79580d5b-500c-4ebf-9629-797146a4a694" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Screenshot%202026-06-10%20at%209.51.59%E2%80%AFAM.png?VersionId=WbTB1EKSG.KDfsfz0F3wp1QVa2oCMGR5" />

Urban Property Group secured the 11,000 sqm Smith Street site in 2022 and has since progressed plans for the broader Keira Place precinct.

Construction recently commenced on the first stage of Keira Place, which will deliver 150 apartments across two residential buildings, including 27 affordable housing apartments and 18 specialist disability accommodation dwellings, alongside activated ground-floor retail and commercial space.

Urban Co-CEO Patrick Elias said the commencement of construction marked a significant milestone for Wollongong and reflected the developer's long-term commitment to regional cities.

"Today's groundbreaking is about turning approvals into homes and moving quickly to deliver much-needed housing in Wollongong's city centre," Elias said.

"Keira Place will provide a diverse mix of homes close to jobs, transport and services, while setting a high benchmark for quality, durability and consumer protection."

Read more:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/news/nsw/groundbreaking-marks-start-of-construction-at-keira-place-in-wollongong-cbd">Groundbreaking marks start of construction at Keira Place in Wollongong CBD</a>

&nbsp;

&nbsp;

&nbsp;

Christopher Joye

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