Recent housing figures in Australia show that property prices across the country’s state and territory capitals recorded their lowest quarterly growth in a year during the first three months of 2014.
According to the latest Australian Property Monitors quarterly report, median house prices across the country rose by just 2 per cent in the first quarter of this year, while the combined prices of all types of properties increased by only 1.3 per cent.
House prices either fell or remained flat in Perth, Brisbane, Darwin, Canberra, Adelaide and Hobart during the quarter, with Tasmania’s capital Hobart recording average house price losses of 8.4 per cent since the same time last year.
Even in Sydney, which has seen record price increases over the past 12 months, the growth is slowing. While median house prices in Australia’s largest city still rose by 3.1 per cent during the first quarter on 2014, this growth was still considerably down on the 5.1 per cent rise recorded during the final quarter of 2013.Average house prices in Sydney are now worth AUS$793,000.
In Melbourne, house prices rose by 2.8 per cent in the first quarter.
Easing house price growth is sure to be seen as good news for Australian-bound emigrants 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.
Australian property… all sortThe 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$1.809, while exactly two weeks earlier you would have received AUS$1.776. If you were exchanging £150,000 – say from the sale of your UK home – then this would equate to a difference of AUS$4,950 in a fortnight.
However, go back three months and £1 was worth AUS$1.895, meaning an exchange of £150,000 would have netted you AUS$284,250 – AUS$12,900 more than you would have received last Friday.
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 our Partner Halo Financial http://www.halofinancial.com/wp