03/03/2023
The ‘fixed-rate cliff’ has emerged as one of the biggest potential risks to housing market values, and overall stability in 2023. This article explains what the cliff is, and five must-know pieces of information that put the cliff into context. What is the ‘fixed-rate cliff’? Mortgage rates fell dramatically during the pandemic. This was […]
14/02/2023
Last December, Australia’s central bank opted to lift the cash rate by 25 basis points — its eighth hike of the year — to 3.10 per cent, further compounding the financial woes of the 1 million mortgagers ‘at risk’ of mortgage stress. With inflation at a 30-year high, many experts opine that interest rates will continue rising throughout this year, […]
13/02/2023
Interest rates have risen sharply in recent months, which has influenced the ability of borrowers to pay their mortgages. While some borrowers built up buffers over the last couple of years in the form of early repayments and substantial savings while rates were at a historic low, others were not so lucky. Many borrowers who […]
09/02/2023
Mortgage-holders and home buyers can expect more interest rate rises in the first quarter of this year, but the good news is that most economists now predict the official interest rate will start coming down by late 2023 or early 2024. The Reserve Bank of Australia’s (RBA) cash rate could rise from its current 3.1 […]
29/01/2023
In recent years, refinancing has become increasingly popular in Australia as homeowners look for ways to combat rising interest rates. In fact, recent data from ABS showed that the value of refinanced home loans has hit a new record high, a whopping $19.5 billion worth of mortgages were refinanced in November. This is […]
21/01/2023
The Australian Bureau of Statistics’ (ABS) Lending Indicators for November 2022 illuminated that new housing lending for the month fell 3.7 per cent for the month to $24.73 billion in new lending, marking the 10th consecutive month of declines. Lending to owner-occupiers dropped 3.8 per cent, slightly higher than the 3.6 per cent decrease in investor […]
17/01/2023
Savvy property investors are likely to re-enter the market in 2023 after a year in which many quit because of fast-rising interest rates and high prices, experts predict. With the majority of cash rate hikes now likely behind us, as well as declining prices, high rents, tight vacancy rates and the return of migration, the […]
03/01/2023
Refinance volumes to continue I’M SEEING many of my clients purchasing, as it’s [still] a great time to buy at the moment. A lot of first home buyers are getting into the market and taking advantage of the record number of government grants and schemes, [but] we are also starting to do a lot of refinances for […]
11/12/2022
Welcome to REB’s weekly round-up of the headline stories and news that are important not only for the real estate sector but also for the state of property in Australia more broadly. To compile this list, not only do we consider the week’s most-read stories and the news that matter to you, but we curate […]
04/05/2022
Mortgage rates aren’t the only interest rates on the way up following the RBA’s first cash rate increase in over a decade, with Westpac and NAB the first of the big-four to signal an increase to savings account rates. Westpac Westpac will lift rates on its ‘Westpac Life’, ‘Westpac 55+ and Retired’ products by 25 basis points […]
