Elizabeth Redman| Domain| 10 April 2021 https://www.domain.com.au/news/architect-designed-renovations-increase-capital-growth-for-melbourne-homeowners-research-1036743/ Architects have long believed they add value, but now they can prove it, with new research showing owners of an architect-designed home renovation sell their houses for more money. On average, there is 1.2 per cent extra capital growth a year for Melbourne properties with a small practice architect-designed renovation compared to those …
What you need to earn to afford a mortgage in Sydney’s red-hot property market
Kate Creedon 9 News| 12 April 2021 https://www.9news.com.au/national/ideal-salary-to-afford-mortgage-on-average-sydney-house-avoid-financial-stress/74af8886-aa2a-45f5-94ef-99307bd10c12 Home buyers now need to be making a six figure salary to afford the mortgage on an average house or apartment in Sydney’s red-hot property market, exclusive data has revealed. Data compiled for Nine News by RateCity shows with a 20 per cent deposit, a household needs to earn at least $147,629 …
The huge mistake most mortgage holders don’t know
Adapted from: The huge mistake most mortgage holders don’t know. Nicole Pedersen-McKinnon| Sydney Morning Herald| 27 February 2021 As the coronavirus pandemic hit last year and budgets threatened to break, CBA sent a letter to mortgage holders saying their repayments would be automatically cut to the minimum. Sounds helpful, doesn’t it? Yes, it eases the purse-string pressure but… it also …
Refinance your loan in seven days?
One small lender reckons you can switch to them quickly – and at much lower rates thanks to new technology. Open banking promises to be a game-changer in the way we can all better manage our money. In essence, it’s a simpler and more streamlined way to share your banking data with approved lenders and financial technology companies, which could …
Sydney house prices reach record high, outstrip pre-pandemic levels
Kate Burke| Sydney Morning Herald| 28 January 2021 Sydney house prices reach record high, outstrip pre-pandemic levels (domain.com.au) Sydney house prices have reached a record high and outstripped pre-COVID-19 prices by nearly $50,000, with median prices jumping by six figure sums across in-demand pockets, new data shows. Sydney’s median house price is now a whopping $1,211,488 after surging by 4.8 per cent …
Lenders extend cashback offers
Malivaka Santhbennur| The Adviser| 27 January 2021 Lenders extend cashback offers – The Adviser Several lenders and their subsidiaries have extended their cashback offers, while one lender has extended its LMI discount offering. Westpac, St.George Bank, BankSA and Bank of Melbourne have extended their home loan refinance cashback offers, effective 22 January 2021. The extension is applicable for eligible applications …
Value of new home loans hits record high for second month in a row
Euan Black| The New Daily| 15 January 2021 Property boom: Value of new home loans hits record high (thenewdaily.com.au) Lenders approved a record value of new home loans in November as first-home buyers took advantage of falling interest rates and government incentives. Data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics on Friday shows lenders approved a record $23.96 billion of new …
Why are Australian home prices rising again and can it last?
Jessica Irvine| Sydney Morning Herald| 28 January 2021 Why are Australian home prices rising again? (smh.com.au) Australia’s Teflon-coated property market appears to have proved itself again. Despite the country’s first recession in nearly three decades, Aussie home values – including houses and apartments – ended 2020 a solid 3 per cent higher, according to CoreLogic data. According to another report, …
Declining mortgage rates expected to continue: RBA
Annie Kane| Mortgage Business| 25 November 2020 https://www.mortgagebusiness.com.au/breaking-news/15166-declining-mortgage-rates-expected-to-continue-rba The average mortgage interest rate paid by households is expected to continue to decline “for a while yet”, according to the central bank. Speaking at the Australian Business Economists Webinar on Tuesday (24 November), the deputy governor of the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA), Guy Debelle, noted that the average mortgage rates paid …
Three-month extension for HomeBuilder scheme
Colin Brinsen| The New Daily| 29 November 2020 Three-month extension for HomeBuilder scheme (thenewdaily.com.au) The federal government’s HomeBuilder grants program is being extended for three months, which is expected to see a further 15,000 homes approved under the scheme by March next year. Cabinet Minister David Littleproud has confirmed the extension, saying the program has been a “real success story”. …