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Looks like some bad news for home owners, another interest rate rise is almost certain to happen tomorrow when the RTBA meets.

We have not seen back to back interest rate rises since late 2003 however with yearly inflation at a 6 year high of 4% (February rose 0.3%) this is well above the Reserve Bank’s target and is expected to force them to raise interest rates tomorrow.

To blame for the high inflation figures were the soaring costs of Vegetables (if you haven’t noticed I suggest eating more vegies!), financial services and the continual rent increases we are seeing throughout the country.

For more information check out this article, Inflation Jumps to six-year high

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Well it looks like we are seeing a consistent theme in the property market for the start of 2008. For successive weeks we have seen the auction clearance rate hover in the early 70% region, this is a little over a 10% drop from last year in Melbourne.

I think we are starting to see a balanced marketplace in affect. Still some great prices being fetched for good quality real estate as well as some good buying opportunities.

Sometimes you just have to be there on the day and a good deal could come your way, certainly some good opportunities where available for property buyers over the weekend and with a another predicted interest rate rise coming, those who are cashed up will certainly be at an advantage for property acquisition.

We reviewed a property in Drummond street North Carlton last week on this very blog, I attended the auction on the Saturday and it was passed in without a single bid. Some buyers managed to buy it on the same day for $395,000 which wasn’t a bad buy. I think if the property was auctioned late last year it would have seen a competitive auction push the result past $400,000.

An interesting few weeks lay ahead of us!

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It’s the end of the week for most of us so let's finish with a funny real estate clip.

This is an episode from the 'fone jacker' who makes daring prank calls over in the UK. He is calling up an estate agent and asking whether they have any bungalows for sale, very funny!!!

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It's amazing the amount of property buyers that don't have a good look around their chosen area before they buy a property, Let's face it, you're about to spend a lot of money on your property purchase and particularly if you are going to owner occupier then it might be worth while getting a better understanding of a suburb if you are slightly unfamiliar with it.

Here's what I do, when looking for a property on behalf of a client I tend to always go for a long walk around the suburb, check out the nearby streets, the milk bar, coffee shop (and its coffee!), shopping facilities and the local pub! This gives me a great feel for the people and the amenity.

Other things to think of include public transport, gyms, recreational activities, parklands and if you’re a dog owner then maybe off leash zones so your fury friend can stretch the legs!

If you don't like walking then use a bike, it's amazing the difference when roaming a suburb by foot or bike rather than driving the car. The car gets us to places quickly but often we miss out on the finer details.

When we buy property to live in, often lifestyle is more important than the property itself. If we spend time and money on checking out the quality of a house before buying it which is the right thing to do then surely it’s also wise to give the locality a detailed check to.

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