Mortgage News Archive - June 2007
Wealthy leading mortgage binge
THE nation's richest federal electorates, in Sydney and Brisbane, have been leading the mortgage binge, dousing fears that the majority of households are facing a debt crunch. More
June 29, 2007
We're drowning in household debt: Census
AUSTRALIANS love their bit of land, but Census figures reveal we're less likely to own a home now than we were five years ago while the level of household debt has gone through the roof. More
June 27, 2007
Taxes, red tape hurt home sales
NEW home sales fell in May as the cost of building continued to turn buyers away amid low home affordability, figures show. More
June 26, 2007
House price boom coming to your street
AUSTRALIANS are confident house prices will rise over the next quarter as the nation piles money into property, but most people believe sellers want too much and could be forced to drop their prices, a survey reveals. More
June 26, 2007
Negative gearing slammed
INVESTORS negatively gearing investment properties are going to suffer with tax cuts in 2007-08 as the taxman wears less of their losses. More
June 25, 2007
Home buyers get the green bug
IT used to be about location, location, location -- but green-conscious house hunters now want to know where the water tank is, too. More
June 21, 2007
Housing sector rebounds
THE housing sector has posted its third consecutive quarter of growth in terms of building starts despite falling home affordability. More
June 20, 2007
Tax cuts for homebuyers
ALMOST 200,000 homebuyers a year will save up to $2000 when buying a home in a surprise $2.6 billion tax cut in the New South Wales State Budget. More
June 20, 2007
Housing industry group lauds NSW Budget
AUSTRALIA'S peak housing industry body has praised the New South Wales budget for cutting land tax and eliminating mortgage duties. More
June 19, 2007
PM rules out boosting first home grant
JOHN Howard has ruled out expanding the first-home buyers grant, admitting he has "limited" capacity to tackle the rising costs of housing affordability. More
June 18, 2007
House values to rise
GROWING demand for residential property is expected to fuel modest price growth for the next three years, leading forecasters said yesterday. More
June 18, 2007
Housing at mercy of rates
AUCTION clearance rates remained healthy in most capitals at the weekend, defying the annual winter slowdown, but analysts warned an interest rate rise would be likely to snuff out the housing sector recovery. More
June 18, 2007
Demand for investment property hots up
DEMAND for residential investment property is set to strengthen as seasoned investors who may have quit the market to take advantage of the superannuation contribution incentive are keen to return, a survey shows. More
June 16, 2007
Rates to remain on hold, economists predict
COMMENTS today in a speech by Reserve Bank governor Glenn Stevens have reaffirmed market consensus that interest rates will remain on hold for the remainder of the year, economists say. More
June 14, 2007
Struggle State for first home buyers
RECORD low housing affordability has caused the number of people planning to buy their first home in NSW to fall by 8 per cent. More
June 14, 2007
Fixed loan rates set to rise
DOMESTIC banks could be forced to boost fixed interest rates on home loans after a global sell-off in bonds, which has raised the banks' cost of funding fixed mortgages. More
June 14, 2007
House prices won't get that high
PROPERTY prices are rising again, but don't hold your breath for stellar returns with analysts warning capital gains won't match those enjoyed by investors in recent years. More
June 13, 2007
Consumers down on housing
CONSUMER sentiment has dropped as worries grow about higher interest rates and low housing affordability, a key survey shows. More
June 13, 2007
Double housing grant, PM told
JOHN Howard is under pressure from within the Government to double the value of the first-home buyers grant to $14,000 in an effort to short-circuit the high cost of housing as an electoral threat. More
June 13, 2007
Home lending jumps
TOTAL personal finance commitments fell 0.4 per cent in April, seasonally adjusted, to $6.53 billion compared with a downwardly revised $6.56 billion in March, but home lending jumped, the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) said today. More
June 12, 2007
Aussies in home buying boom
MORE Victorians are buying their first home now than at any time in the past two years as sentiment about the property market improves. More
June 12, 2007
Data points to housing recovery
MORE than 66,000 people gained approval in April for a housing loan, undeterred by high house prices and adding to the risk of an interest rate rise. More
June 8, 2007
More money needed to buy homes
THE number of Australians expected to buy their first house in the next year has jumped by 6 per cent, despite falling housing affordability, a survey reveals. More
June 7, 2007
Loan defaults on the rise
AUSTRALIA'S leading mortgage insurers are feeling the pinch from rising home loan defaults, after insurance claims from banks and other lenders soared more than 500 per cent last year. More
June 7, 2007
First homebuyers wealthier
RISING house prices aren't scaring off well-off first-home buyers. In spite of housing affordability being at an all-time low, the number of Victorians determined to buy their first home rose 4 per cent in the March quarter. More
June 7, 2007
High rents help boost growth
THE Australian economy powered ahead in the March quarter, with consumer spending driving much of the growth, including spending on sharply rising rents and food. More
June 6, 2007
Interest rate steady, for now
THE central bank has today kept official interest rates steady at 6.25 per cent, as widely expected, giving some relief to Australian households. More
June 6, 2007
Time's ripe to invest in property
INVESTORS are returning to the property market, lured by better prospects for capital gains and rising rental yields - but don't expect house prices to rocket ahead. More
June 6, 2007
Housing sector bouncing back
DATA released today by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) suggests the housing sector is beginning to recover, economists say. More
June 5, 2007
Young locked out of property
A GENERATION of young people may soon be unable to afford a home, Bernie Lewis Home Loans has warned. More
June 4, 2007