Australian banks will be extending support for struggling customers, announcing today that borrowers who have paused loan repayments will be able to defer for an extra four months.
The decision by some banks to extend mortgage deferrals will come as a relief to struggling Australians, who were only a few months away from a financial cliff. But it may have also prevented a potentially devastating shock to the economy.
As the property market loses steam and lenders look for ways to boost their mortgage books, some of the nation's top home lenders are fighting it out with generous cashback offers and discounted rates to entice home loan refinancers looking for savings.
Finding simple ways to save on a home loan can be tough, but CommBank has made that task a little easier for Aussie refinancers with its new limited time $2,000 cashback offer.
Just when the market appeared to be quietening, some seismic shifts at the lower end of the home loan market have changed the rate landscape once again according to the latest edition of the Mozo Banking Roundup.
With fixed home loan rates at record lows, if you’re not on the refinancing ball right now, you could miss out on some serious savings.
Teachers Mutual Bank has announced it will be participating in the second release of the First Home Loan Deposit Scheme (FHLDS), with applications opening today.
The coronavirus pandemic continues to chip away at property prices, with the CoreLogic Home Value Index recording a decline of 0.7% in June - the second month in a row it's seen prices drop. Among capital cities, dwelling values fell by 0.8% over the month, led by both Melbourne (-1.1%) and Perth (-1.1%). Sydney saw the third largest decline, with prices down by 0.8%. Adelaide and Brisbane were relatively spared, recording price drops of just 0.2% and 0.4%, respectively. Meanwhile, indices for Hobart, Darwin and Canberra showed slight increases of between 0.1% and 0.3%.CoreLogic head of research Tim Lawless said the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on property prices has so far been mild, and year-on-year growth remains strong for most capital cities. “The twelve month change in home values remains in positive double digit territory across Sydney (13.3%) and Melbourne (10.2%),” he said. “The only capitals where values show declines on an annual basis are Perth and Darwin, but even across these cities, home values were early into a recovery phase pre-COVID."
Online lender Homestar and Tasmanian-based Bank of Us have proven that there is no floor when it comes to fixed rate loans, with both lenders dropping seriously competitive offers in the last few days.
The coronavirus pandemic and ensuing restrictions have sent shockwaves throughout the economy, and while the property market has proven to be remarkably resilient so far, it hasn’t been completely spared.