Cutting Edge Finance

22/12/2025

Our team will be taking a break over the holidays 🎄

Closing at 12pm on December 23rd, returning refreshed and ready on January 5th at 8:30am ✨

For any inquiries over the Christmas period, please email [email protected] or text 0458 773 002 and our inboxes will be monitored intermittently 📱

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year 🥂

15/08/2025

WHERE HOUSES ARE SELLING IN UNDER TWO WEEKS

It pays to know how fast properties are selling in your chosen suburb, with Ray White data showing wide variations across the country in June.

In Perth, houses sold in a median of just 13 days, with nearly every suburb seeing properties snapped up within a month. Brisbane’s median sits at 21 days, with 83% of suburbs moving stock in under 30 days.

By contrast, Melbourne (36 days), Sydney (34 days), and Hobart (35 days) offered slightly more time, while Canberra (47 days) and Darwin (54 days) give the most breathing room – though that often reflects smaller, more deliberate markets.

But even within cities, suburb-level trends vary. In Hobart, Seven Mile Beach houses are flying off the market in just 6 days. In Sydney, Fairlight sells in 7 – despite a $3.4 million price tag.

The message for buyers? Understand your local data and get pre-approved so you can move decisively when the right home comes up.

13/08/2025

SMALLER CITIES DELIVER BIGGER GAINS OVER TWO DECADES

Adelaide and Hobart have outpaced Sydney and Melbourne for house price growth over the past 20 years, according to new valuation report from the Australian Property Institute.

Between 2005 and 2024, Adelaide’s median house prices soared 175.1%, just ahead of Hobart at 171.9%. Sydney (170.9%), Brisbane (169.4%) and Melbourne (169.2%) followed close behind, but the results challenge long-held assumptions about where the best investment returns lie.

For units, Hobart again led the way with 133.5% growth, followed by Adelaide (128.9%) and Melbourne (109.1%). Sydney and Brisbane underperformed the national average.

The report said that the smaller capital cities are increasingly outperforming their bigger cousins, despite drawing fewer migrants. While Sydney and Melbourne attracted the bulk of new arrivals, their housing markets delivered slightly lower returns.

These results suggest other forces, like affordability, supply constraints and lifestyle shifts, may have a bigger influence on long-term capital growth than migration alone.

12/08/2025

The latest data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics shows the monthly Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 1.9 per cent in the 12 months to June, down from a 2.1 per cent rise to May.

Last month, the RBA caught many economists off guard by holding firm on the cash rate, citing it needed more data before making its next move.

That data has now arrived, and it points to further easing in inflation.

For the June quarter, CPI fell from 2.4 per cent to 2.1 per cent. Underlying inflation, as represented by the trimmed mean, dropped from 2.9 per cent to 2.7 per cent - its lowest since December 2021.

With inflation now tracking within the RBA’s 2-3 per cent target band, economists believed there was a strong case for cutting interest rates in August, and the RBA agreed.

What’s more, there may be more relief on the way for mortgage holders. Experts say the fallout from the Trump administration’s tariffs could see interest rates cut further than previously anticipated. Economists expect that if inflation and economic growth continue on their current path, there is room for one or two more cuts this year.

08/08/2025

SIGNS POINT TO RATE CUT AS INFLATION FALLS TO 2.1%

The Australian Bureau of Statistics' June quarter inflation data has brought fresh optimism that rate relief could be on the way.

That’s after consumer prices rose just 2.1% in the 12 months to June, down from 2.4% in March and the third straight quarter of decline.

Meanwhile, the trimmed mean – which excludes volatile items like fuel and is the Reserve Bank of Australia’s (RBA) preferred inflation measure – also eased, slipping from 2.9% to 2.7%.

That puts both readings within the RBA’s 2–3% target range for the second quarter in a row, strengthening the case for a rate cut in August.

Some of the sharpest slowdowns came from rents and insurance, both of which have eased significantly over the past year. Annual rent growth is now 4.5%, down from 7.3% a year ago, while insurance inflation has dropped from 14% to 3.9%.

The RBA has been waiting for clearer signs that inflation is on a sustainable path lower, and these results may provide just that.

06/08/2025

DIGITAL BANKING IS THE NORM

Banking in Australia is going digital, fast. That’s the key takeaway from the Australian Banking Association’s (ABA) 2025 Bank On It report, which reveals nearly all interactions between customers and banks now happen online.

A record-breaking $160 billion was spent via mobile wallets last year, from more than four billion tap-and-go transactions. That’s over 11 times the number of ATM withdrawals.

Almost every bank interaction is now digital: 99.3% of all activity occurs online or via app. In contrast, branch interactions have more than halved since 2019, dropping 51%.

Mobile wallet usage alone has increased 23-fold since 2019, including a 28% jump in the last 12 months.

ABA CEO Anna Bligh said digital banking is now embedded in everyday life.

“Making payments with your phone is now the norm for millions of customers,” she said.

03/08/2025

APPROVALS HIT 22-MONTH HIGH IN JUNE

June’s building approvals data delivered good news for housing supply with numbers up 11.9% to 17,076 dwellings, the strongest monthly result in nearly two years, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

The spike was largely due to a 33.1% increase in multi-unit approvals, while house approvals dipped slightly (-2.0%) for the month.

Over the full 2024/25 financial year, 187,330 dwellings were approved, 13.9% more than the previous year. Multi-unit approvals rose 27.9% over the year, while detached house approvals grew 6.1%.

While the turnaround is welcome, the Housing Industry Association (HIA) cautioned that these figures still fall short of the 240,000 approvals per year needed to meet the federal government’s housing targets.

“Multi-unit activity, in particular, needs to do more heavy lifting. Multi-unit commencements need to double from current levels in order to achieve the government’s housing targets,” HIA Senior Economist Tom Devitt said.

“This is unlikely to occur under current policies. Labour and land shortages, obstructionist regulations and punitive surcharges on institutional investors have pushed improving sentiment away from apartments back into the detached housing sector.

22/07/2025

RBA minutes show split board

Minutes from the Reserve Bank of Australia’s (RBA) July meeting show the board was reluctant to deliver a third rate cut in four meetings, opting instead to hold the cash rate at 3.85%.

Although all members agreed more easing will be needed, the majority felt the timing wasn’t right.

That’s after inflation indicators surprised slightly to the upside, and March quarter private demand was stronger than forecast. The labour market, while softening, had not yet eased significantly.

By contrast, those pushing for a cut highlighted weak household spending, falling wage pressures and a subdued economic outlook, all signs that inflation would keep softening.

The RBA’s base case remains for further rate cuts, but only at a “modest and gradual” pace.

That said, the market still sees an August cut as highly likely, especially after June’s unemployment rate jumped to 4.3%.

30/01/2025

Refinancing made easy—right from your couch! 🏡✨ At Cutting Edge Finance, we empower you with personal service, expert education, and the power of choice. Take control of your mortgage with confidence—on your terms. 💻📈

25/12/2024

Merry Christmas!🎄

20/12/2024

Our team will be taking a break this festive season 💙
Our office will be closing at 3pm today and will reopen on January 6th at 8:30am.
We want to thank all our amazing clients who we have had the pleasure to help this year, we cant wait to speak to you all again soon and to help hundreds more next year ✨
Wishing you all a Merry Christmas, a Restful Holiday Season and a Happy New Year 🎄

08/11/2024