House prices made the biggest jump in a decade, according to Corelogic's results for the last quarter.  The best performing capital city was Sydney with 6.2 per cent growth, followed closely by Melbourne at 6.1 per cent, Hobart had a 3.4 per cent jump, Brisbane 2.4 per cent, Canberra 2.3 per cent, while Adelaide experienced a 1.4 per cent uptick. Corelogic head of research Tim Lawless said “The housing value rebound was spurred on by lower mortgage rates, a relaxation in borrower serviceability assessments, improved housing affordability and renewed certainty around property taxation policies post the federal election,” Lawless said. Agreed by Capital Economics economist Marcel Thieliant and he said sales volumes were much stronger in recent months than the preliminary data suggested.  The strong finish to 2019 is expected to be the start of larger gains in prices with anticipated listings, sales and RBA cuts to strengthen the market...

Victoria has taken the title of Australia's best performing economy, overthrowing New South Wales which is now in second place, according to Commsec’s state of the state market report. For the first time in three quarterly surveys Victoria has solely taken the top spot on the overall economic performance rankings, thanks to the strength of the state’s economic growth, retail trade, the job market and construction work. While New South Wales, which had previously jointly shared the top spot with Victoria, remains consistently strong across all indicators. Each quarter CommSec analyses eight key indicators: economic growth, retail spending, equipment investment, unemployment, construction work done, population growth, housing finance and dwelling commencements. When looking across growth rates for the states and territories, Victoria exceeded the national-average on seven of the eight indicators, with Victoria’s lowest ranking, in population growth, ranking in fourth. [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="953"] Victoria has kept top spot...

An aerial shot of the five-minute community planned for Mambourin, 48km southwest of the Melbourne CBD.   A NEW “five-minute community” where residents will be able to walk and cycle to “everything they need” is planned for Melbourne’s outer west.   Shops, public transport, schools, parks, entertainment and fitness precincts, and even a “major town centre and commercial business district” will be within a five-minute stroll of every doorstep in Frasers Property Australia’s ‘Mambourin’, the developer says.   The $440 million project is set to transform 115ha of vacant land in Mambourin — a rural district 48km southwest of the CBD near Wyndham Vale and Werribee, with a current population of four. That’s expected to swell to 3500 by the time the 1200-lot development is completed in about eight years.   Stage 1 of the project has been approved by Wyndham City Council and is set to be done by...