Strong demand for property pushes prices up, 6 benefits to downsizing your home, and Important information regarding pre-Christmas lending.

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As the Victorian economy struggles through the Coronavirus shutdown, one question keeps coming up: Are property prices about to crash?

Of course there are always the doomsday headline seekers. Professor Steve Keen has been predicting a 40% fall in Australian house prices “within 5 years” since the GFC in 2008. He is infamous for having bet on it happening. Which he lost, subsequently walking from Canberra to the top of Mt Kosciuszko as his ‘punishment’.

In Victoria, these crazy times make us all feel like we are in a movie, perhaps a futurist dystopian drama, or perhaps a little like JAWS 2, with COVID-19 replacing the shark?

‘It seemed we had everything under control. For a time. But nature cannot so easily be controlled: Not only did the danger return, it is worse.’

As in that movie we see our leaders needing to walk the tightrope, in a balancing act between safety and the economy. Each decision made is critical.

It is not that long ago homeowners were paying 17% on a home loan. It was a very different time to what we face now.

The RBA cash rate is at record lows, and the Reserve Bank has stated it cannot and will not drop it below the current 0.25%. We have now also seen the introduction of Quantitative Easing (QE) in Australia, sending Fixed Rate loans down below 2.20%

Small wonder refinancing has surged to over 70% of loan applications!

Using dual income purchasing power to borrow more money is standard practice, and is part of the reason for the dramatic increase in house prices over the past 30 years. Most young couples purchase a home together, with joint incomes taken into account to be able to afford ongoing home loan repayments.

All fishermen have a story about “The one that got away ..”

I think all property owners are the same!

Property never seems affordable, or inexpensive, at that time. It is only in retrospect the lost opportunity is truly realised. “If only .. “

Amid the spread of coronavirus, the past few weeks have seen increased expectations of an Australian recession, a slowdown in business activity and trillions of dollars wiped off global share markets.

It has many asking what the impact of the coronavirus would be on Australian residential property.

This note explores fundamentals of housing to better understand outcomes in the current climate.

What is the 2020s looking like for property markets? The last decade saw Australia’s property market experience price booms and busts.

According to Domain Research economist Trent Wiltshire, Australia’s housing market is unlikely to experience the same levels of price growth in the 2020s relative to the previous decade.

So, you’re thinking about getting a deposit bond?

Whether you’re a first home buyer, seasoned property investor, downsizing or buying off the plan, chances are you have a few questions.

Here are the 10 most common deposit bond questions answered:

The Federal Government has moved to help first home buyers (and their parents!).

Housing affordability, particularly for first home buyers, is always an issue. A major part of that problem is saving deposit of 20% of the purchase price plus purchase costs. Not that you HAVE to have that large a deposit, but it means you avoid paying the extra cost of loan mortgage insurance (LMI).

Help is at hand!

A place to call home – very much an attainable proposition according to young Australians

Young Australians still dream of owning their own home and are actively taking steps towards achieving that goal in 2020, according to new consumer research commissioned by global developer, Lendlease.

After two years on the backburner, rising property prices are once again becoming the subject of debate around the suburban barbecue. A well-respected annual outlook predicted this week that the cost of houses could rise by more than 15% in Sydney and Melbourne next year. It is a conclusion matched by other surveys and forecasters. But do they give the whole picture? Are we really heading back into boom territory and, if so, what is causing it?

Wasn’t the market really struggling not long ago?

Terry Ryder, from Hotspotting.com.au

I’m expecting uplift in apartment markets in the major cities as we transition into the New Year. It’s clear from the evidence that’s emerging week by week that the post-boom correction that afflicted Melbourne and Sydney has run its course and recovery is real.

But, contrary to the general tone of mainstream media, there was no blanket collapse in price levels across the two biggest cities during that recent downturn. Some market sectors were strongly resistant.

One of the primary ‘weapons’ banks utilise, is to take advantage of lazy borrowers. 

Merry Christmas, go back and read the headline again. If it is news to you, then I’ve just given you one of the best early Christmas presents you can get.

Let me explain.

Our interest rates have headed down over the last few months and the banks have passed on some but not all of the savings to you, much to the government’s ire. A decrease in the cash rate of 0.25% does not mean the banks’ costs reduce by the same amount.  So, it is not realistic to expect the full decrease in the cash rate to be passed on.

Australia's biggest home-loan providers are starting to adopt the proposals of the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority to ease serviceability rules for home loans.

ANZ and Westpac were the first to do so, changing their respective home-loan serviceability floor rate to 5.50% and 5.75%. Both, however, increased their buffer rates to 2.5%.