It’s hard for the kids
By Graeme Salt Young Australians are resorting to complex methods to buy their own homes. That is the conclusion of new research from the University of Adelaide. It found that almost half of young people followed disrupted housing pathways, moving repeatedly between renting, homeownership and, in some cases, back to the family home. In the […]
Your next mortgage may not be with a bank.
By Graeme Salt You want to buy a house; your first call is often to your bank. But increasingly, many non-bank lenders are finding solutions to would-be home buyers when the bank says no. Sometimes, highly-regulated banks just won’t lend you enough for the expensive Australian property markets. This image shows the borrowing capacity of […]
Can’t save a 20pc deposit? Four ways to buy property sooner
By Graeme Salt Amassing a down payment remains a huge hurdle for aspiring buyers, despite easing house prices. A house deposit generally needs to be 20 per cent of the value of the property if buyers want to avoid paying what’s called lenders mortgage insurance (LMI). LMI protects lenders from losing money if a borrower defaults and […]
The easiest way to save your home deposit
By Graeme Salt Saving for a first home is already hard enough. So when a federal budget change appears to make some popular savings strategies less attractive, it is no surprise people are worried. Since the rent budget, concern has centred on young Australians who are using shares or exchange-traded funds (ETFs) to save for a […]
$250,000 less – that could be this budget’s impact on your borrowing capacity.
By Graeme Salt This week’s budget made a number of key announcements, one of which was to remove negative gearing benefits for newly purchased properties except for brand new properties. This difference between old and new will have a huge impact on your borrowing capacity due to the different way banks assess the impact of […]
Are we heading for a property bloodbath?
By Graeme Salt This weekend auction clearance rate fell to 60.9 per cent, according to research house Cotality. Such a low figure can imply there are more sellers on the market than buyers; often a pre-cursor to a price drop. In the current climate (rate rises and Iran war) this is far from surprising. Such […]
First-time Buyers. Is rentvesting for you?
Graeme chooses to rentvest
Why first timers may be wise buying a place – even as prices rise
Would-be first-time buyers are caught between a rock and hard place – either they buy at exalted prices, or they remain as tenants and pay exorbitant rents. The first-time buyer market is turbo-charged due to government incentives that only seem to benefit sellers. Yet, with rents also increasing dramatically, would-be buyers may still be best […]
Looking to buy a property but waiting for prices to drop?
By Graeme Salt Want to buy but nervous of a collapse in property prices? Chances are you will be waiting a very long time. Research just release by Cotality shows that over the past four decades, there were only six years where home values fell. At most it was a 6.1 per cent drop in […]
Too late for first-time buyers?
By Graeme Salt In news that surprises nobody, prices on properties suitable to the government’s First Home Guarantee Scheme have risen sharper than the rest of the property market. Research by the Australian Financial Review and Cotality showed that, across the country, 89 per cent of locations saw above average growth in the first home […]