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National property prices are expected to increase by up to five per cent in 2023, having already lifted more than two per cent since the start of the year.

The strongest growth is expected to be in Perth with growth of between four and seven per cent, according to a report by REA Group.

Sydney and Adelaide property prices are forecast to increase by between three and six per cent, while Brisbane is heading for between one and four per cent growth.

Melbourne prices are predicted to grow at a slower rate of up to two per cent, although they might record a small dip by the end of the year.

The forecasts are based on a prediction that the RBA's series of interest rate rises is nearing its peak.

Report author Cameron Kusher said a limited supply of properties for sale remained a key factor contributing to buyer competition and price growth.

"We saw price increases despite rising interest rates and reduced borrowing capacities and anticipate moderate price increases to continue over the coming months," he said.

Mr Kusher said the outlook for 2024 was less clear with a large cohort of fixed-rate borrowers' mortgages set to expire from current interest rates of around two per cent and reset to around six per cent.

"Interest rate changes act with a lag and, as such, the possible impact of higher repayments on these borrowers won't be seen until 2024," he said.

"At this stage, we are forecasting modest price growth in 2024."

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Gold Coast are stepping up their bid to sign Damien Hardwick as their next AFL coach, with chief executive Mark Evans flying to Europe.

According to several media reports on Wednesday, Evans is to meet with the three-time Richmond premiership coach in Italy during Hardwick's holiday.

There is also speculation if Hardwick is open to coaching the Suns they will table a five-year deal.

Evans' trip comes after last month's sacking of Stuart Dew, who had coached the Suns since 2018.

Hardwick dramatically quit Richmond in May, saying he felt he had run out of ways to lift his players.

Gold Coast have not made the finals since they joined the league in 2011.

The Suns refused to comment on Evans, while the Gold Coast chief executive was also contacted.

In June, Hardwick said he was already missing the game.

He led the Tigers to their drought-breaking flag in 2017 and then made it a dynasty with premierships in 2019-20.

Hardwick also won a premiership at Essendon and another at Port Adelaide as a hard-nosed defender.

He and Evans have history with the pair working together in Hawthorn's football department during the 2000s.

Hardwick was a Hawthorn assistant coach from 2005-08 before taking over as Richmond coach, while Evans was their football manager at the time.

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Higher prices for insurance, food and housing stung Australian households in the last quarter, although the worst of the cost of living crisis looks to be over.

Employees have endured close to double-digit annual growth in living costs as tracked by the national statistics bureau - the largest rise of all household types and the biggest jump since 1991.

Over the quarter, housing was one of the biggest contributors to living expenses for all households, with a mismatch between supply and demand pushing up rents.

Insurance premiums also grew across house, home contents and motor vehicle products, with meals out, takeaway and fruit and vegetables largely responsible for the jump in food-related expenses.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics' living index, which measures changes in mortgage interest unlike the consumer price index released last week, varies between household types due to different spending habits.

While living costs are still going up for all households, the annual pace of growth stabilised for workers and has started to cool for pensioners, welfare recipients and self-funded retirees

For employers, who are likely to still be paying off mortgages and incurring higher borrowing costs, annual living costs stuck at 9.6 per cent annual growth for a second quarter in a row.

All other income groups experienced a slower pace of annual growth, but still above the consumer price index.

Workers are bearing the brunt of higher interest rates, with the index recording a 91.6 per cent increase in mortgage interest charges over the year to June.

"This was up from a 78.9 per cent annual rise in the March 2023 quarter reflecting the impact of the Reserve Bank of Australia's cash rate rises and the rollover of some expired fixed rate mortgages to higher rate variable mortgages," the ABS said.

Borrowers may have seen the last of the interest rate rises, with the central bank opting to keep the cash rate on hold for the second month in a row in August.

There could be further mortgage pain to come, however, with the Reserve Bank keeping the option to hike again if needed.

Plus, most variable borrowers have not yet paid for rate hike number 12 doled out in June due to the lag time between cash rate movements and money coming out of bank accounts.

RateCity research director Sally Tindall urged borrowers to hunt around for a better deal if they were struggling.

Variable rate mortgage holders should be looking for a rate under 5.75 per cent, with a handful of lesser-known lenders offering rates below 5.5 per cent.

The latest lending data, released by the ABS on Tuesday, showed refinancing rates dipping slightly but remaining elevated as borrowers continue to switch lenders in search of better deals.

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Queensland insists it is winning the war against the spread of destructive fire ants.

Agricultural Minister Mark Furner and his department director-general rejected media reports fire ants had crossed into NSW, when they faced a budget estimates hearing on Wednesday.

Mr Furner's confidence in dealing with the invasive pest comes after agriculture ministers agreed on a national plan, including a horseshoe configuration to contain the ants in Queensland's southeast.

A treatment band to stop queen ants reproducing will surround the pests from Moreton Bay, west to the Lockyer Valley, east into the Gold Coast and south to the Tweed Shire.

It is in response to a nest found within kilometres of the NSW border last month.

"There is no evidence that it has crossed the border at this point," Department of Agriculture and Fisheries director-general Chris Sarra said.

"I further note that we're confident in the strategy that noting when it rises in various places it's detected, identified and dealt with effectively."

Fire ants are one of the world's most invasive species. Their stings can threaten humans and livestock and they can devastate ecosystems.

Farmers in NSW recently called on the state government to consider reintroducing border checkpoints over fear the pests could affect cattle and spark quarantine zones.

Mr Furner said a national approach in accordance with a new taskforce was a world-leading response.

"If you compare the spread - and yes, there is some spread of fire ant in southeast Queensland, some 4km per annum - you compare that with the United States of 48km per year, China of 80km a year, that's why we say this is the best program in the world," he said.

"In fact, it's the only program in the world where we're succeeding in terms of dealing with this particular pest.

"Our program of dealing with this, not only with the national program but with the fire ant suppression task force, is combating this pest and we are winning."

A Biosecurity Queensland report released in June found at least $3 billion would need to be allocated towards the eradication program if Australia was to be rid of fire ants by the 2032 Olympic Games.

© AAP 2023