Australian weighted average median house price on the increase.

The latest edition of the Bendigo Bank/REIA Real Estate Market Facts Report identifies some interesting trends around Australia that should prove useful for people seeking suitable residential or investment properties across several price points.

Dennis Bice, Executive Retail, Bendigo and Adelaide Bank said “The Australian weighted average median house price is now $617,200 or 13.2% higher when compared with the June quarter 2013.

“In terms of quarterly growth for the East coast capitals, the median house price in Melbourne rose 3.3%, to $658,000 or 16.7% for the year, followed by Sydney with an increase of 3.1% over the June quarter to $811,800 or 17% higher than the figure for the same time last year.

“Brisbane’s median house price increased by 2.2% to $470,000 an increase of 5.6% when compared to the same quarter in 2013.

”Activity wasn’t all confined to the East coast.  In the Adelaide market, more than one thousand sales in the ‘other dwellings’ category saw a 4.9% rise for the quarter”, Mr Bice concluded.

Fast Facts: March quarter 2014

• Quarterly Australian weighted average median house price is $617,232
• Quarterly Australian weighted average median other dwellings price is $496,244

Median house prices up:

• Melbourne 3.3% to $658,000
• Sydney 3.1% to $811,800
• Brisbane 2.2% to $470,000
• Canberra 0.9% to $535,000
• Adelaide 0.8% to $418,150
• Darwin 0.1% to $620,800

Median house prices down:

• Perth 2.7% to $535,000
• Hobart 1.3% to $380,000

Median other dwelling prices up:

• Adelaide 4.9% to $320,000
• Sydney 3.9% to $573,200
• Melbourne 1.9% to $502,000
• Brisbane 1.3% to $390,000
• Perth 0.2% to $449,000

Median other dwelling prices down:

• Hobart 7.9% to $255,000
• Darwin 7.6% to $485,000

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Marcus Neville (NSW) joins the Leveraged Equities Team from ANZ Margin Lending where he excelled in building the business since 2010. Marcus is a great communicator and effortlessly builds rapport with key stakeholders.  Prior to ANZ, Marcus was at Coin Financial Software and Macquarie Bank. Marcus is originally from the UK where he worked with Citigroup.

Richard Sleep (VIC) was previously a Team Leader with the Leveraged Equities business in Melbourne looking after Macquarie, JB Were, RBS and Evans & Partners.  Richard has been with the business for over 11 years and started out with Goldman Sachs JBWere Equity Finance as an Administration Officer and worked his way through the ranks as a Communications Officer, Account Manager and Senior Account Manager.

Matthew Low, Senior Manager, Partner Development at Leveraged Equities said: “Richard and Marcus will both be great assets to the Partner Management and Distribution team working collaboratively with the broader Leveraged Equities business to achieve the growth targets we have set”.

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Bendigo Bank returns Australia’s highest business customer satisfaction rating.

Bendigo Bank has continued its run as the business bank with Australia’s highest customer satisfaction rating.

The Bank recorded a satisfaction rating of 80.6 per cent with its business banking customers for the six months to June, according to the most recent report from Roy Morgan Research.

Bendigo and Adelaide Bank’s Executive Retail Dennis Bice said the Bank’s business banking staff were dedicated to providing their customers with the products and services they needed in a way that suited them.

“We’ve come a long way since out first Business Banking offering launched in February 1996,” Mr Bice said.

“These results show our efforts to deliver industry-leading customer service are valued by the community, and I would like to thank our business customers for their continued support.”

Mr Bice said the Bank’s business banking team was made up of almost 300 dedicated staff working across Australia to provide specialist advice and a wide range of services including agribusiness, international trade, merchant facilities, insurance and other working capital solutions.

“I think part of our success is our ability to meet the needs of a wide range of business clients,” Mr Bice said. “Whether you’re a big business, small business or a primary producer we have the staff, products and services available, to ensure that together, we can make your business stronger.”

On top of its business banking success, Bendigo Bank also received an overall customer satisfaction rating of 86.8%, for the six months to June 2013, well ahead of the major banks.

The Bank was helped to this score with a personal customer satisfaction rating of 87.8%, again comfortably exceeding the four major banks.

This is the first time Roy Morgan Research had released total satisfaction figures by combining personal and business customer ratings to give a single holistic measure of how customers were viewing their banks.

Roy Morgan Single Source is based on more than 50,000 interviews each year. It’s business banking results come from the most comprehensive B2B research in Australia, which interviews more than 30,000 business decision makers per annum.

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Houses up 4% year on year but dip for March quarter

According to the latest data from the Bendigo Bank/REIA Real Estate Market Facts report prepared by the Real Estate Institute of Australia, there has been a slight dip in the median house price across Australian capital cities for the March 2013 quarter.

Bendigo and Adelaide Bank’s Executive Retail, Dennis Bice, said “Despite the March quarter showing a slight decrease in the median house price of Australia’s capital cities, compared to the March quarter of 2012, the weighted average median house price has risen 4.0% in the past 12 months.  

“With the exception of Canberra, there has been median house price growth in all Australian capital cities.”

The weighted average median price for other dwellings for the eight capital cities was $434,601, a 0.9% drop, but compared to the March quarter of 2012, the weighted average median price for other dwellings for the eight capital cities increased 1.7%. 

“In terms of rentals nationally, median house rents increased over the March quarter across the capitals, with Perth and Canberra recording the highest increases of 4.4% and 4.3% respectively.  

“Rents for two bedroom other dwellings increased in Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth and Hobart while median other dwellings rents remained unchanged in Sydney and Canberra. Darwin recorded a 0.2% decline in rents for two bedroom other dwellings which probably reflects the increased supply of apartments coming online in the Top End’s capital.  

“Of course, there is no single real estate market in Australia, but these findings are a useful indicator as to where value can be found in different cities and in different market segments within those cities and the regions”, concluded Mr Bice 

Fast facts

• Quarterly Australian weighted average median house price is now $534,015
• Quarterly Australian weighted average median other dwellings price is $434,601                                           

Median house prices up

• Sydney 1.6% to $673,681
• Perth 1.0% to $505,000
• Darwin 2.4% to $592,000  ( up by 7.6% for the year)

Median house prices down

• Melbourne 0.9% to $545,000
• Brisbane 2.3% to $430,000
• Adelaide 1.3% to $395,000
• Hobart 1.4% to $360,000
• Canberra 8.7% to $482,500

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Bendigo and Adelaide Bank Managing Director Mike Hirst said the adjustment aims to find a fair balance for all of the Bank’s key stakeholders.

“When setting interest rates our Bank needs to take into account a wide range of factors and carefully consider its borrowers, depositors, staff, shareholders, partners and the wider community,” Mr Hirst said.

Customers with an average variable home loan of $250,000 will see their repayments decrease by $33 a month (principal and interest home loan over 30 years).

12 June 2012

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Managing Director, Mike Hirst, said the decrease followed the Reserve Bank of Australia’s decision earlier in the week to lower the official cash rate by 0.25%.

“Bendigo Bank sets its pricing and fees based upon principles which promote fairness and equity for all stakeholders.

“Our Bank has considered the interests of borrowers, depositors, community partners and shareholders to reach a decision which is well-balanced and extremely competitive,” Mr Hirst said.

“On balance, reducing home loan rates was the right thing to do now given the cost of living pressures borrowers face and our desire to help stimulate economic activity at a community level.

“But the fact is our funding costs have continued to rise, and today’s rate reduction means our Bank will absorb those costs for now, although further deterioration in funding conditions may place upward pressure on lending rates going forward.”

The new rate will apply from Monday, 28 November, 2011.

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From October this year, AMP Flexible Lifetime Protection will be rolled out to Bendigo Bank’s 460
branches.

AMP Director Product Manufacturing Paul Sainsbury said the alliance with Bendigo Bank gives
AMP an opportunity to build a strategic relationship with a highly regarded financial services
institution and broaden its distribution reach to Australians needing quality wealth solutions.

“AMP aims to develop new channels that give more Australians greater access to financial advice
and important products such as life insurance,” Mr Sainsbury said.

“AMP’s alliance with Bendigo Bank demonstrates our commitment to achieving this aim and our
capability to provide our partners with the necessary support, training and development for their
financial planners and other advice providers.

“We were able to innovatively tailor a life insurance solution and provide support services that
suited the needs of the Bendigo Bank network and ultimately its customers,” Mr Sainsbury said.

Bendigo and Adelaide Bank Executive Retail Dennis Bice said Bendigo Bank wanted to partner
with a strong brand with proven experience in the life insurance space as well as an established
and supportive service model.

“The bank recently launched its transition to advice program, an investment which will allow us to
have more meaningful conversations with our customers and ultimately drive better outcomes for
them,” Mr Bice said.

AMP has developed an ongoing training and support program tailored for both the bank’s
experienced financial planners and new personal advisers.

“The training and support that AMP offers was a vital part of their offering to help us successfully
achieve this transition and our alliance with AMP enhances the bank’s wealth management
offering,” Mr Bice added.

Initially, more than 60 of Bendigo Bank’s 460 branches will have staff trained to provide limited
personal advice on Tier One products including insurance, superannuation and managed funds.

“However, it’s the bank’s aim to have an accredited representative in every branch to enhance the
range of advice solutions available to our customers,” Mr Bice concluded.

AMP’s Flexible Lifetime Protection Trauma Cover Optimum recently won Trauma Product of the
Year at the 2010 AFR Smart Investor Blue Ribbon Awards.

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