First home buyers pass the baton to upgraders

Posted by Infochoice 0n 11/9/09

The big worry for lenders in the housing finance market has been that when the strong push from first home buyers came to an end the market would lose its momentum and be back in the doldrums.

Housing finance figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics  this week suggest that first home buyer demand has indeed peaked.  After rising steadily in response to low rates and government stimulus first, home buyer share of all dwellings financed peaked at 28.5 per cent in May and fell back to 27.1 per cent in June and 25.7 per cent in July. Read More »

The recession and interest rates – breakfast with the economists

In Sydney on 26th August a group of Economists joined together in front of 1500 delegates to discuss the current state of affairs in the global and Australian economies. These Economists were:

Stephen Koukoulas: Global Strategist, Currency & Fixed Income Research, TD Securities
David Wyss: Chief Economist, Standard & Poor’s
Dr Subir Gokarn: Chief Economist, Standard & Poor’s, Asia Pacific
Warren Hogan: Head of Australian Economics & Interest Rate Research, ANZ
Bill Evans: Global Head of Economics, Westpac
Rory Robertson: Interest Rate Strategist, Macquarie
Sally Auld: Interest Rate Strategist, J.P. Morgan Australia Limited Read More »

Picking the wrong time to fix

A review of the fixed rate loan data in the Infochoice database shows  a couple of interesting trends. Once again borrowers have picked the wrong time to fix. Average three and five year fixed rates bottomed in March and have risen quite sharply since then. Read More »

CBA tips mortgage rates to rise

Commonwealth Bank of Australia’s (CBA) competitive pricing on mortgages helped it gain 21.9% of the mortgage market in 2009, but chief executive Ralph Norris has warned interest rates could rise.

“There’s no doubt we will reprice where necessary, we have to do what’s right on a commercial basis,” Norris said during the bank’s full year results briefing. Read More »

Good investment opportunities in Sydney – WBP

The Sydney property market has shown “marked improvement” and now offers good investment opportunities, according to valuation and property services firm, WBP Property Group.

Speaking at today’s Sydney Property Outlook breakfast, Chris Lackey, WBP, NSW state manager, noted a slight drop in the number of first home buyers as a percentage of total borrowers this month, an indication that activity in this segment may have begun to cool. Read More »

Interest rate put on hold for fourth month in a row

Interest rates were left on hold for the fourth month in a row and signalled the end to its recent rate cutting cycle, economists said after the RBA decision to leave the cash rate at 3% on Tuesday.
RBA governor Glenn Stevens indicated monetary policy was now on a neutral footing.  Here are some of his comments:

“The board’s judgment is that the present accommodative setting of monetary policy is appropriate given the economy’s circumstances,” Mr Stevens said. Read More »

Home improvement borrowing on the rise

Refinancing is on the rise as increasing number of home owners are looking to borrow to renovate their properties. It is said that the amounts of refinancing ranged from $20,000 to $100,000. Read More »

Trade rates coming off the boil

Trade contractor prices have eased thanks to an influx of skilled tradespeople, the Housing Industry Association’s (HIA) Austral Bricks Trade report has found. Read More »

Interest rate rise on the horizon

Coinciding with the experts’ suggestion that the worst of the recession is behind us, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has indicated that interest rates  will  rise in the coming months. Read More »

New suburbs to alleviate housing shortage in Sydney’s West

NSW State Minister Kristina Kenneally yesterday revealed the government’s plan to create new suburbs in Western Sydney area. The state government is planning to re-zone 3300 ha of farms and rural lands in The Hills, Blacktown, Liverpool and Camden. The subdivided land is said to be sold for $200,000 apiece.

As one of the preferred lenders in the Western Sydney area and based in Parramatta, Iden Money welcomes the move and is looking forward to servicing more borrowers to fulfil their home loan requirements.