Approvals in decline
Private sector house approvals were 22 per cent lower than a year earlier in June, at 9,834, with all cities reverting lower.
Attached dwellings were also 10 per cent lower over the year at 6,165, the ongoing decline now being driven by fewer Sydney apartment projects being passed for approval.
I expect many projects will be scrapped or mothballed anyway due to higher construction costs and rising interest rates.
Over the financial year there will still just over 200,000 dwelling approvals, with a record number of dwellings under construction at the last count, so the pipeline should remain strong for some time to come.
Rate hikes update
The RBA lifted the cash rate target as most market analysts expected by 50 basis points to 1.85 per cent today.
The language appeared to hint at a data-dependent path going forward.
At the time of writing, Australia's 3-year bond yield has shed more than 100 basis points from the June highs, to sit at 2.685 per cent.
The 10-year bond yield was even trading at a smidgen under 3 per cent, with inflation expectations experiencing something of a welcome decline in this week's data dump.
