FSBO Real Estate Blog

Market forecasts interest rates to head lower

admin — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 09:17:17 +0000

With the uncertainty in the financial markets of recent weeks many professionals are now expecting official interest rates to move lower.

Unless international conditions worsen we do not expect the RBA to move in the coming months.

RBA keeps rates on hold

admin — Thu, 04 Aug 2011 23:04:35 +0000

Given the level of uncertainty in the global financial markets it comes as little surprise that the RBA has decided to leave official interest rates unchanged for another month.

We still expect interest rates to rise later this year and mortgage rates to follow but for now home owners can rest easy

Mortgage broker calls for increase to FHOG

admin — Thu, 16 Jun 2011 08:19:36 +0000

Mortgage broker Loan Market has called for the FHOG to be increased to reflect changes in the Australian housing market

seemingly unable to see any correlation between increasing house prices and the introduction of the FHOG the broker pointed out that when the grant was introduced in 2000 the average loan taken out by first home buyers was $137K but in 2011 the average loan had increased to $285K. clearly economics is not a strong point for this broker.

the FHOG is a flawed policy that should be scrapped not increased. As the data supports all the FHOG does is to increase property prices and through the magic of gearing the increase will be several multiples of the $7K grant. so instead of helping the first home buyer the FHOG helps existing homeowners by increasing the price of existing property by ~$50K

A mortgage broker calling for the scheme to be increased is understandable as it would be in their self interest for this to happen. However the government needs to focus on supply side issues if they really want to help out first home buyers.

US real estate market still weak

admin — Thu, 09 Jun 2011 17:07:56 +0000

The 2011 State of the Nation’s Housing report from Harvard University highlights how weak the American housing sector remains. The number of completions for new homes remains at levels last seen during WWII and prices continue to fall despite a lack of new properties.

Economic forecasts suggest that the US real estate sector is likely to remain weak with a glut of properties still to come onto the market. 11m American homeowners are in negative equity and another 4m are behind with their mortgage payments.

While property spruikers suggest that when the market turns it will pick up rapidly the reality is more likely to be a sluggish recovery. Rising rents will encourage property investors back in to the market and first home buyers will be incentivised to buy rather than rent. This suggests that any pick up in the US housing market is likely to be focused smaller houses and apartments.

RBA keeps rates on hold

admin — Tue, 07 Jun 2011 10:45:19 +0000

the reserve bank has left official interest rates on hold again for another month maintaining an historically low rate of 4.75%

the major Australian banks are likely to follow suite rather than opting to increase mortgage rates out of step with the reserve bank

a rate rise is still expected later in the year

Variation in real estate growth across capital cities

admin — Thu, 02 Jun 2011 18:56:25 +0000

latest figures show that average real estate prices in Perth continued their decline while Sydney posted modest gains in average property prices to retain it’s position as Australia’s most expensive real estate

nationally the forecasts of modest price gains for property appear to be coming true rather than the large falls that some experts were suggesting

Home owners spared a rate rise

admin — Fri, 27 May 2011 08:21:04 +0000

the reserve bank has again spared home owners from rising mortgage costs keeping official interest rates on hold

economists seem to agree that there will be further rate rises to come later in the year but for now mortgage payments remain steady

Foreign investment rules reversed

admin — Mon, 03 May 2010 12:18:47 +0000

Facing a voter backlash against the controversial changes to property ownership by foreign nationals the Rudd government has quietly reversed the changes that come into effect late last year that made it easier for temporary residents to purchase Australian real estate. There has been much anecdotal evidence of overseas buyers outbidding local families for property for established dwellings. The government will hope that reversing these changes will take some of the heat out of the housing market and improve housing affordability.

RBA raises official interest rates in April

admin — Tue, 06 Apr 2010 05:28:15 +0000

the Reserve Bank has again raised official interest rates by a further 0.25 pts to take official rates to 4.25% as the RBA returns to a more normal monetary policy stance. Glenn Stevens has previously commented on his desire to contain property price growth and will have considered housing affordability along with the strength of the economic recovery in coming to today’s decision.

Average variable mortgage rates will now be around 7.0% and are likely to rise a further 1.0 pt to 8.0% over the next 12 months

Selling property FSBO makes good TV

admin — Fri, 02 Apr 2010 11:41:11 +0000

Axe the Agent is a new show on The Lifestyle Channel which follows homeowners who try to sell their homes without going through a real estate agent. In the show the homeowners get advice on presenting the property and marketing ideas from ex real estate agent Jonny Benarr and property developer Gary McCausland. In addition to the conventional ways of marketing the property for sale such as internet listings and for sale signs homeowners use more unusual techniques such as town criers and gallery exhibits.