Archives for April 2017

If you have been house hunting for quite some time and still can't find the home that ticks all the boxes, have you thought about building? Whilst it's not for everyone, building your own home might end up being the only way to get the home you're after. There are many different ways you can approach it and there's a lot to consider, but here are the three main options if you're thinking about building a new home. Option 1 - Buy vacant land and build The level of interest at the Mr … [Read more...]

In days gone by, the RBA would make a cash rate decision which would then flow through to the interest rate offered by a lender. The major lenders would offer more or less the same rate, which would increase (or decrease) by the same amount and the news headline of the day was all about the lender who raised their rates first. If you studied this carefully, you would also notice that the lender who increased their rates first seemed to change each time - resulting in the negative media attention … [Read more...]

It’s really easy to bash the banks. Trust us, we know. The major lenders are an obvious target and often they’re the easiest people to blame when you're on the highway towards getting your home loan approved and suddenly the road turns scenic.  But sometimes - just sometimes – blaming lenders is not really the right response (plus it turns out it’s generally not that productive). As a result of APRA and more recently ASIC conducting analysis of the mortgage industry, lenders have made a whole … [Read more...]

At the RBA Meeting held today 4 April 2017, the Board decided to leave the cash rate unchanged at 1.50 per cent.  Here's the statement issued by Phillip Lowe, Governor: Monetary Policy Decision.   Conditions in the global economy have improved over recent months. Both global trade and industrial production have picked up. Labour markets have tightened in many countries. Above-trend growth is expected in a number of advanced economies, although uncertainties remain. In China, growth … [Read more...]