House prices and building approvals fall 0.1% in June quarter: Midday Roundup

House prices fell by 0.1% in the June quarter, according to the latest figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

The fall comes after figures from both RP Data and Australian Property Monitors have both shown that housing prices fell during the June quarter.

Perth prices fell by 1%, Adelaide by 0.8%, Brisbane by 0.3%, Melbourne by 0.1%, Darwin by 1.6%, Hobart by 0.1%, while values rose in Sydney by 0.4% and in Canberra by 1.1%.

Over the year, prices have fallen by 1.9%, while falls were recorded across most capital cities including Perth, down by 4.1%, Brisbane by 3.6%, Darwin by 3%, Adelaide by 2.1%, Melbourne by 2%, Sydney by 0.7%, while prices rose 2.8% in Hobart and 2.2% in Canberra.

Building approvals decline in June

Building approvals fell by a seasonally adjusted 3.5% in June, according to the latest data from the ABS, following a decline of 6.3% in May.

According to the data, private sector housing approvals fell 3.2%, after a 0.8% rise in May, while approvals for private sector “other” dwellings fell by 4.2%, after a decline of 16.2%.

The value of total building approvals fell by 2.2% in June, after a 3.6% drop in May. The estimate for total residential building values fell by 4.1%, while the values for non-residential building rose by 1.3%.

In the United States, the Dow Jones Industrial Average has closed lower for a sixth consecutive day, down 10 points or 0.09% to 12,132.49.

“Today’s trading has exposed the market. It apparently was hiding behind the ‘debt ceiling’ curtain, but now that that has been pulled back, we find that there are other problems – namely, the economy,” president of McMillan Analysis Corp Larry McMillan told Reuters.

Shares open lower after weak Wall Street lead

The Australian sharemarket has opened lower today after a weak Wall Street lead, as investors grow nervous as time runs out for a debt deal, even though both major parties have signalled a deal is close with a bill already passing the House of Representatives.

The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was down 58 points or 1.3% to 4439.3 at 12.10 AEST, while the Australian dollar also fell nearly one cent lower to $US1.09c.

AMP shares fell 2.16% to $4.52, while Commonwealth Bank shares lost 1% to $49.59. Westpac shares lost 2.07% to $20.28 as NAB fell 2.78% to $23.81.

Kathmandu shares lift on upgraded annual forecast

Shares in outdoor retailer Kathmandu have soared after impressing with its trading update.

Kathmandu, one of the last big retail floats, said despite difficult retail conditions, consolidated sales for the year ended July 31 were $NZ306 million, up 24.5% on the previous year.

Sales for Australia rose 26% to $143.3 million, while sales in New Zealand rose 18% to $NZ111.3 million.

Chief executive Peter Halkett said the annual result “had to be considered a good outcome given the very uncertain economic environment.”

Australia Post to offer banking services, but not its own

Australia Post has announced that it will distribute banking services in its regional and rural stores on behalf of Rural Bank.

A non-binding heads of agreement has been signed, with the intention that customers will be able to open Rural Bank deposit accounts at 1,400 post offices across the country, with loans offered through Rural Bank business development officers in an additional 130 post offices.

Australia Post, which is owned by the Government, was rumoured after the GFC to be looking into entering the banking sector. Its CEO Ahmed Fahour is the ex-head of National Australia Bank’s Australian business.