As the housing market has transitioned out of a growth cycle and hit rock bottom in many regions, vendors have found it increasingly difficult to sell their properties. Subsequently, the average time on the market has risen in many areas, the RP Data report stated.

The RBA has revealed that stabilising house prices were a factor in its surprise decision to keep the official cash interest rate on hold this month.

CAIRNS is being showcased as a one-stop shop for the multi-billion dollar fly-in/fly-out mining workforce sector. Central to this is Cairns becoming the home of a federally-funded FIFO centre of excellence. The proposal was outlined by Advance Cairns in a submission to yesterday’s hearing of the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Regional Australia into the use of FIFO and drive-in/drive-out workforce practices.

The infamous Snowtown bank has been listed for sale. Convicted murderers John Justin Bunting and Robert Joe Wagner used the former bank's vault to store their victims’ bodies in barrels in 1999. The bank has more recently been used to shoot scenes for the film Snowtown.

One of my opens I got over 49 groups through it. The strange thing is not one offer, although a couple of people are thinking about putting an offer in, they haven’t move forward yet.

FAR Northern building approvals continue to rise but industry leaders say there is still a long road to recovery. Residential approvals rose 45 per cent to 77 in December 2011, up from 54 for the same period in 2010, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

Shane was awarded the "Top Lister" award at a recent Cairns Property Office function.

PLANS to fix the "dog's breakfast" of residential real estate contracts could mean more information for buyers. The State Government has announced plans to simplify the selling and buying process by reducing the number of forms homeowners need, from as many as six, to one contract.

Queensland and Western Australian estate agent numbers have slumped as a consequence of a nationwide drop in transaction volumes and property prices.

APPEALS against the $15 million expansion of the Redlynch Central shopping centre will delay its construction by up to two years and put 350 jobs on hold.

Remember before the great GFC, we have a lot of little “banks” willing to fight for your business, they have since closed or have been purchased by one of the big four banks, did the ACCC look the other way?

THE Carlyle Group is getting a foot on the Aussie property ladder.

Before the global financial crisis, Australia had a diverse and highly competitive financial system. The four major banks went head-to-head with the likes of St George, Bankwest, Bendigo Bank, Aussie, Adelaide Bank, RAMS, Wizard and Challenger.

Experts are hopeful that interest cuts will restore faith to a cautious market in 2012.

Apartments and multi-storey homes are about to get a little safer for children thanks to a rule change around windows in new buildings.

Well, glad to say that the numbers are up, I have been talking to a couple of agents in our office and not in our office as well and they are saying the same thing…….. the volume has increased.

Australia's house prices fell in every quarter last year but they may have hit bottom, new figures show.

Insurers have defended price rises for residential strata title insurance in north Queensland at a federal parliamentary inquiry.

THE housing industry continues to gain confidence with a spike in building approvals as the Far North recorded the second highest approval increase in the state.

Australian property commentators have lined up to slam predictions made by a US real estate analyst that property prices here are set to dive by as much as 60%.

The Reserve Bank is likely to cut interest rates a further three times this year, Yellow Brick Road executive chairman Mark Bouris has forecast.

Although This story cover Sydney we are seeing the same in Cairns I have written three contracts so far this month, there are buyers around, I have spoken to other agents in Cairns and we feel that there is good volumes but the prices are not going up. It is better than this time last year that's for sure. HOME buyers in Sydney's east and inner west are out in force, with agents reporting a surprising number of early sales. Traditionally January is a quiet month for sales, but some believe the two interest rate cuts in November and December could be encouraging buyers.

The volume of housing finance commitments to owner occupiers increased for the eighth consecutive month in November, up 1.4% over the month and 4.6% over the year.

There is little chance of a housing market crash this year, says HSBC chief economist Paul Bloxham as part of his macro-economic outlook for 2012.

A BOUTIQUE accommodation house at North Cairns is undergoing a $3 million expansion and refurbishment. The new-look Cairns Queenslander Apartments and Restaurant in Digger St are due to open in mid May.

TENANTS should be allowed to attend owners' corporation meetings to give renters a much greater say in how their strata buildings are managed and maintained, tenants' groups and strata experts have said.

Brisbane vet Michael O'Donoghue has seen too many people have to give up, or put down, their pets because they could not find a rental property that welcomed animals.

The House of Representatives Standing Committee on Social Policy and Legal Affairs.

The problem comes about when Local Governments in particular lose control of their costs. It plays out in three steps

THE International Monetary Fund has slashed its economic forecasts for Australia, warning of a new global recession that would hit commodity prices and drive millions worldwide into unemployment.

While Europe and Washington fiddle around fires of varying intensity, foreign central banks buying increasing amounts of commonwealth government bonds are sending a message: Australia is a safe haven.