Economic updates

If you are thinking about a Queensland real estate investment in a unit or townhouse, Cairns may be one destination well worth considering.

Values of real estate in Australia have increased by 3.8 per cent for houses in the December quarter, with capital cities also seeing a 2.4 per cent rise for other dwellings.

Queensland approvals for the construction of units have seen an increase of 12 per cent in January, when compared with the same month in 2012.

Real estate values for capital cities rose by a combined 0.3 per cent in February, following a 1.2 per cent increase in January.

Experts have lauded the latest auction data for real estate in Melbourne, with clearance rates doing better than the ten-year average.

Many of Australia's capitals have enjoyed growth in property values for February, according to the latest RP Data-Rismark February Hedonic Home Value Index.

With a number of high-end properties selling across Sydney last weekend (February 23-24), the real estate market is starting to show signs of a stable recovery.

Demand for rental properties across the state has eased, as documented in the latest Real Estate Institute of New South Wales (REINSW) Vacancy Rate Survey.

Tasmanian real estate has ended 2012 on a high with a recent report finding that the December quarter performed well.

The Housing Industry Association has welcomed data which revealed Australian real estate prices jumped 1.6 per cent in the December quarter of 2012.

South Australian real estate building approvals increased in December last year, according to new statistics.

In what may be a positive sign for residential real estate builders in Northern Territory, statistics have shown that approvals were up for December.