If you’ve been reading the property pages recently, becoming a homeowner might seem like a more attainable goal than in previous years. Home loan rates have seen significant drops in the past few months, with top offers diving below the 2.00% mark.But if you want to lock in one of these historically low interest rates, there’s something you can’t forget: revert rates.
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Finding upsides in the Covid crisis can be a tough ask, but a silver lining has emerged for Australian home borrowers that is cause for at least some celebration: home loan rates have dropped significantly since the pandemic hit Australia. Lenders passed through much of the RBA’s March rate relief, and have continued to cut rates in the months since as they battle it out to attract new borrowers.
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Changes to home loan interest rates may be slowing but competition among lenders is alive and well with averages continuing to fall and some of the sharpest offers ever seen hitting the market in recent weeks.
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Just when we were starting to get used to home loan rates that start with a '2', Australia's challenger lenders are now rolling out home loan rates with a '1' in front, offering even more opportunities for savvy borrowers to compare and save.
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The Reserve Bank is unlikely to cut the cash rate when it meets on Tuesday, but lenders are forging ahead with a new round of home loan rate cuts in a veritable bonanza for borrowers. Variable and fixed home loan rates are dropping under 2.00% ahead of the RBA's decision, and there are some big savings on offer.
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Lenders have been cutting rates left and right for months now, but it’s still rare for a home loan to offer headline rates below the 2.00% mark. Recently, online lender Homestar came out with a new offer that sees it joining this exclusive club.
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The dual shock of the coronavirus pandemic and the economic downturn has left industries reeling and the government scrambling to keep everyone afloat. But in typical Australian fashion, interest in the property market has hardly waned. Right now, there are a few big questions on everyone’s mind. Are property prices going to drop? Can interest rates get any lower? What will happen when the government support is finally tapered off? While there’s a fair share of uncertainty underpinning all that’s going on at the moment, a few trends have emerged which give us some sense of where the property market is heading. We’ve compiled a few need-to-knows below.
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Buying your first home may be a huge milestone, but chances are you’ll eventually wave goodbye to that two-bedroom apartment or townhouse and move elsewhere. That could be due to a number of reasons, whether it’s needing more space to raise your kids or looking for a change in scenery. However excited you may be to hunt for your next home, that’s not the only big decision you'll have to make. You’ll also need to figure out what to do with your existing home: Will you sell or keep it as a rental property?The answer isn’t always straightforward, as there are pitfalls to watch out for. Mortgage broker from Two Red Shoes, Rebecca Jarrett-Dalton says one mistake is letting your emotions drive your decision - growing so attached to the property that you aren’t willing to let it go.“[Your decision] has got to be affordable and make sense. What you don’t want to do is cripple yourself that you can’t afford your new lifestyle,” she says. Instead she recommends crunching the numbers and consulting experts, such as a mortgage broker and an accountant, before locking in your final decision. The bottom line is, how much is your choice going to cost you and can you afford it? To determine whether selling or renting out is more financially viable for you, here are five key factors to consider.
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Think the home loan market has cooled down? Not a chance. In fact, it’s hotter than ever with lenders falling over themselves to compete for Australians looking to refinance or take out a new loan.
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Despite plenty of headwinds and a high volume of homes withdrawn from auction, activity in the property market is holding up across a number of capital cities, according to recent data from CoreLogic.As many as 1,344 homes in capital cities were taken to auction during the week ending 26 July, with preliminary clearance rates coming in at 59%. This was similar to the previous week’s result, which was later revised down to 53%.In Sydney, 602 homes were taken to auction, returning a preliminary clearance rate of 68.3%. This marks an improvement from the previous week, when a total of 515 auctions returned a final clearance rate of 61.4%.Canberra saw the highest preliminary clearance rates, with 80.5% of properties successfully sold at auction. Meanwhile, 60.7% of properties were cleared in Adelaide, 43.9% in Brisbane, and 28.6% in Perth.With plenty of challenges currently plaguing the Melbourne market, Corelogic expects the final clearance rate for the week to settle around 50%.
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