A record number of Australians are switching lenders – and for good reason. ABS data shows external refinances in the September quarter climbed 25.2% on last year and hit an all-time high. This isn’t happening because borrowers are restless – it’s happening because the savings are too big to ignore. Lenders have been [...]
The decision by the Reserve Bank of Australia to reduce the cash rate earlier this month doesn't just mean lower repayments for most borrowers – it also means the average person's borrowing capacity has increased, as occurred following earlier rate cuts in May and February. With rates now lower, lenders are starting to [...]
The gap between the average variable interest rate and lowest variable rate on Finder, a comparison website, was 1.57 percentage points in early March, while the gap between the average and lowest fixed rate was 1.37 percentage points. It is very important to note that interest rate comparisons are not always equal, and some loans [...]
Higher interest rates make it harder for borrowers to qualify for larger loans or even loans of any size. That's because for every increase of 0.50 percentage points in interest rates, the average person's borrowing capacity falls by about 5%, according to PropTrack senior economist Paul Ryan. Since 2022, the Reserve Bank of Australia [...]
There’s a lot more to a home loan than just the interest rate. The features of the loan can also have a big impact on your total mortgage costs and repayment flexibility, which is why it’s important to understand the potential benefits of a redraw facility and an offset account. It is no secret that [...]
The average borrower is taking out a $636,209 home loan, with loan sizes ranging significantly in specific states, based on mortgage data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics. Check out the chart below for the figures: Regardless of whether your mortgage is higher or lower than these figures, you probably want to reduce your loan [...]
The federal government has allocated another 50,000 places across Australia to its Home Guarantee Scheme (HGS) for the 2024-25 financial year. That includes 35,000 places for the First Home Guarantee and 10,000 for the Regional First Home Buyer Guarantee. Under the first program, the government supports eligible first home buyers to purchase a property [...]
While it’s often said you need a 20% deposit to qualify for a home loan, a significant number of borrowers are securing mortgages with smaller deposits, according to the latest data from APRA, the banking regulator. In the March 2024 quarter, 31.0% of new home loans (by value) had deposits of less than 20%, [...]
Are you a first home buyer or single parent who wants help getting a property? If so, you’ll be interested to learn that the federal government’s Home Guarantee Scheme (HGS) has now supported more than 150,000 buyers since its inception in January 2020. Eligibility is limited. There are property price caps, which vary from state [...]
Despite the rise in inflation and interest rates over the past two years, “nearly all borrowers continue to service their debts on schedule”, according to the latest Financial Stability Review from the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA). “Households with lower incomes, including many renters, have felt these budget pressures acutely,” the RBA said. [...]
