The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) will be doing things different from January 2024 after the conclusion of an independent review that was commission by the Australian Government. The report had presented a number of changes and recommendations to better communicate to Australians. After each cash rate meeting held by the RBA board, the governor, currently Philip Lowe, will conduct a conference to the...
What to consider when choosing a construction loan. If you want to build a new house or perhaps update your existing property, this generally funded through a construction loan. It is quite common that many of our clients want our help sourcing a house and land package. In this market insight we aim to highlight some things to consider when choosing a construction loan. What is a construction...
From 1st July 2022, many home lenders will offer the federal government's low-deposit housing scheme assistance program. From 1 July, 40,000 new places under the Federal Government’s Home Guarantee Scheme (HGS) will become available to help Australians to buy their own home. To be eligible for the HGS you need to qualify with the below: Your household income must be less than $125,000 for...
What is a construction loan? When buying a house and land package, its generally required to purchase it in a two-part contract. You essentially sign and pay for the house and the land separately, even though the purchase is combined. If you have purchased the land titled or off the plan, the next step is to settle the land purchase. Once owned, the builder will start to apply for build permits,...
Home loan activity update. According to the recent research conducted by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), Australians are continuing to borrow funds to purchase a home. The latest data from ABS shows that its reached a historical high. During November 2021, Australians proceeded with new loan commitments of $31.4 billion. This equates to an increase of 6.3% higher than the previous month and...
The new HomeBuyer Fund was announced by the Victorian Government on the 8th October 2021. Premier Dan Andrews revealed a $500 million scheme that’s expected to support more than 3,000 Victorians becoming home owners. This welcoming news is to improve housing affordability and to attempt further stability. Premier Dan Andrew also mentioned, “The pandemic has heightened financial pressures for...
Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) is tightening lending criteria. Announcement made 5th October 2021, many will see this as either a good outcome or a bad change. Essentially borrowers will be assessed with the expectation that they can pay for the proposed loan if interest rates increased by 3%. This boosts the ‘buffer’ by 0.5% at the time of the statement. For example, a borrower...
Top tips before applying for a mortgage. Most people need some form of mortgage to purchase a property. In this market insight we outline some helpful tips to better your situation before apply for a loan. It’s essential to obtain a loan pre-approval or gain clear understanding around your borrowing capacity. It will ensure you purchase a property within your affordability. It also helps narrow your...
According to recent studies and research conducted by the Reserve Bank of Australia, Australians with mortgages have significantly increased their financial buffers in comparison to last year. Taking note of the graph below, sourced by Roy Morgan, households are successfully increasing their household liquidity buffers. The left section indicates change within the indebted homeowners. They now have an...
Mortgage deferrals continue to drop. According to new research from Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) it seems many Australians are once again managing to pay their own mortgages. Back in May 2020, there were approximately 10% of of borrowers needing to pause their loan repayments. In December 2020, borrowers needing to pause their loan repayments were down to approximately 2.4%. The...