News
$500 Million Victorian Homebuyer Fund | Who Can Apply?
On 8 October, Premier Dan Andrews revealed a $500 million Victorian Homebuyer Fund (VHF) to help 3,000 aspiring home buyers purchase a property in the state. The biggest benefit of the scheme is that you can buy a home in Victoria with a deposit as low as 5%. The Victorian government...
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bookmarkTags: government scheme, low deposit home loan, Victoria
Interest Rate Buffers Are Going Up, To Bring Debt Levels Down
The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) announced that it will increase the interest rate buffers banks use to assess the serviceability of home loans from 2.5% to 3%. The higher buffer rate will be in place from the end of October 2021. It is applicable only for...
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bookmarkTags: APRA, Borrowing power, lending criteria
Ballooning Housing Debt Prompts Talk Of Lending Restrictions From Regulators
The Australian housing market has an imminent crisis looming. Surging property prices, record-low interest rates and increased lending of high-debt home loans are likely to result in a housing bubble burst due to ballooning housing debt. The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority...
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bookmarkTags: Australian Housing Debt, Credit growth, Debt-to-Income Ratio, DTI, first home buyers, Home Loan, Interest Rates, property prices
NSW & Victoria In Lockdown: What Relief Measures Are Available?
Due to the spike of COVID-19 cases, NSW has extended its lockdown for two weeks until 11:59 pm on 30 July 2021. To keep updated about the latest lockdown restrictions, please visit NSW’s government website. Victoria has extended its current State of Emergency through to...
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bookmarkTags: mortgage relief, mortgage relief options
First Home Loan Deposit Scheme Adds 30,000 Places, Raises Price Caps
The price caps for homes purchased under the First Home Loan Deposit Scheme (FHLDS) have been raised by $100,000 or more across most states and territories barring the ACT, where they remain unchanged. Given the strong growth in property prices this year, this is welcome and...
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bookmarkTags: FHLDS, first home buyers, first home loan deposit scheme
Family Home Guarantee – Is It Accessible By The Lower Class?
The new Family Home Guarantee scheme, allows single parents to buy a property with as little as a 2% deposit. The government acts as a guarantor to waive the need for the lender’s mortgage insurance. However, single parents fear that they could struggle to be approved for a...
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bookmarkTags: Family Home Guarantee, Family Home Guarantee Scheme
Budget 2021: Support For First Home Buyers & Single Parents
The 2021/22 Federal Budget focuses largely on recovery, to plug remaining gaps in the Australian economy. The 2021 budget is here. It’s the second budget in just six months, following last year’s delayed COVID budget. It has a range of steps to support first-home buyers...
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bookmarkTags: Budget 2021, budget 2022
Major Banks Cut Fixed Rates Below 2%
Fixed rates for home loans are well below variable rates and are the lowest they’ve been in Australian history. Westpac was the first to launch a mega-low interest rate below 2%, after which the National Australia Bank (NAB) and Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) followed....
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bookmarkTags: interest rate drop, Rate cut
Australians Are Paying Too Much On Their Home Loan: ACCC
Australians with older home loans are losing thousands of dollars by not checking for better home loan rates. Borrowers are spending far too much repaying their home loans by not seeking a lower interest rate from their exisitng lender or switching to a new lender. You could...
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bookmarkTags: home loans, Refinance
Fixed Rates Are Below 2%: Is It Time To Fix My Home Loan?
When the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) announced the historic low cash rate of 0.1%, most lenders slashed their fixed rates to below 2% and held off on reducing their variable rates. To fix or not to fix? Seeing fixed rates advertised below 2% seems enticing, however, will...
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bookmarkTags: Fixed Rate
