Short Term Mortgage Rate Drops

September 1, 2010

Several prominent lenders have reduced their mortgage interest rates recently to better reflect the cost of funding. ING Direct recently reduced the rates on its fixed term products. Following this move Suncorp, the NAB and the ANZ bank have all reduced rates on similar fixed interest products. The biggest reduction was made by Suncorp, which [...]

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High LVRs Return to The Market

August 30, 2010

Some welcome news for Mortgage Brokers as high loan to value ratio home loans are returning to the market. Several lenders have begun taking steps to increase their LVRs, however it is uncertain whether 100% LVR mortgages will make a comeback anytime soon. Home loans that lent borrowers 100% of the price of a property [...]

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Off The Plan Popular Again

August 25, 2010

It has been reported that off the plan apartments are coming back into favour with property investors. The Australian has reported a six percent increase in investor activity in the market for apartments, with many having left the share market since its latest drop. Off the plan property was popular in the boom years as [...]

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Credit Licensing Under Way

August 22, 2010

After years of build up, credit licenses have started being distributed by ASIC and Mortgage Brokers have been amongst the first to receive them. In the first month of the new licensing regime around sixty licenses have been given to mortgage brokers around the country. Almost 15,000 applications were received by ASIC for the credit [...]

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RBA Comfortable With Rates

August 18, 2010

It seems the Reserve Bank of Australia are comfortable with the cash rate where it is after leaving it on hold in August. The RBA had previously stated that it wanted to get the cost of borrowing back to an average historical level – a goal that it appears to have achieved. With the cash [...]

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Mixed Signals from Property Market

August 15, 2010

The Australian property market is giving mixed signals with regards to overall movement in house prices. As the nation prepares for a federal election, property prices in some capital cities continue to rise steadily, while other capitals have experienced a slump of late. Figures released by Ray White real estate agency suggest that Sydney and [...]

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Call for Competition as Bank Reports Record Profits

August 11, 2010

The Commonwealth Bank of Australia has reported a full year profit of $6.1 billion, an increase of 42% over the previous twelve month period. This has come at a time when Abacus has called for the government to foster a more competitive home loan market. With the other three big four banks set to release [...]

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Heritage Refocuses on Broker Channel

August 8, 2010

Heritage Building Society has reversed action taken earlier this year by refocusing its distribution efforts on the Mortgage Broker channel. At the beginning of the year Heritage withdrew a number of products from the broker channel due to funding difficulties. New funding has now allowed the building society to re-introduce products for sale through the [...]

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Rates Kept on Hold in July

August 4, 2010

The Reserve Bank of Australia has voted to keep the cash rate at 4.5% in July, as widely tipped by market analysts. Although one of the main triggers, the Consumer Price Index (CPI), was marginally above the target range of 2 to 3%, the RBA chose to keep the cost of borrowing at its current [...]

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House Prices Slow in June Quarter

August 1, 2010

The pace of growth in house prices has slowed in the June quarter. Two separate studies show a slowing in the rate of growth for expensive properties, while the cheaper end of the market made some gains. The Residential Property Survey found that property prices grew by only 1.4% on an aggregate level during the [...]

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