The RBA has slashed a further 1 per cent off the cash rate to put Australian interest rates at 3.25% - the fifth consecutive cut following on from 3% cuts given in the last few months of last year.

Australia has not seen rates this low since 1964.

The RBA took into account the fiscal stimulus measures announced by the government today, and probably the 3.3% national house price fall in 2008 as well as the worsening economic news from USA and UK (see later)

The average $300,000 home loan is now $186 per month cheaper.

Meanwhile... in past years we've spoken of the increase in traffic we've experienced on the aussiehome.com website in January, which we've termed the 'January Effect' - whether it's due to latent demand pent up from Christmas break pouring forth, or people having more time to browse around web sites looking at property, or something else!

Anyway - this January saw the largest example of this, and we hope this translates into more enquiry for you, our clients, more property deals, especially with historically low levels of interest rates, and well, Australia is such a great place to live, isn't it? What better time to buy in?

See 'Latest Traffic' news on the right hand column >>

No, not Golden Fried Chicken  (which looks very good, I must say), but the Global Financial Crisis.

Whilst back in UK last month, the editor of this enewsletter was shocked to see and hear the battering everyone is taking there from the world economic slowdown. Are we more isolated here (in more senses than one?). Bad news follows devastating news - on job losses, home foreclosures, banks going bankrupt, more and more goverment bail outs... and it's been going on and on for months it seems.

Over here, we've all heard about the GFC, but at the same time retailers are saying we've had record sales in January. In the UK, shops in affluent towns are boarded up. Sure, the GFC effects will slow down our growth, it might tip Australia into a technical recession (defined as two successive quarters of negative economic growth). The UK is already in a recession (technically and literally) and they are now talking 'depression' (sustained period of downturn that lasts several years). But it's not anything like as bad as this in Australia. Not unless we let it be so.

OK - let's change the subject!

A couple of our clients have been contacted by Getty Images saying they have photos on their web site that are not allowed - or rather, images taken without permission from a Getty Images library.

We'd like to assure everyone that we use a couple of photo libraries for all our images that we have bought licenses for (iStock and StockPhoto), and do not use Getty Images. But if any if you are contacted by them (it's quite a serious looking letter), please contact us and we'll advise you how to proceed.

NEXT MONTH!

2 years after our last website upgrade, we are doing it again - we'll be unveiling a totally NEW aussiehome.com website, NEW logo, NEW features such as blogging and totally new alerts (including new price alerts) and of course our online TV show. Get ready!