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Virgin Money follows BOQ & hikes variable home loan interest rates
Virgin Money will increase interest rates by 0.20 percentage points across some of its variable rate home loan products from today. Virgin Money said funding cost pressures were behind its decision to lift variable interest rates for some existing principal and interest and interest-only home loans for owner-occupiers and investors. Virgin Money General Manager for Lending, Cards & Deposits Johnny Lockwood said the lender had absorbed higher funding costs for the last 12 months to delay the impacts for its home loan customers. “Unfortunately, funding costs remain high and are likely to remain elevated into the foreseeable future,” Mr Lockwood said. … Continued
Final week: NAB, ANZ, AMP & APRA face royal commission
Co-author: Ellie McLachlan Drifting along, inattention and putting profit before customer outcomes were some of the explanations the bosses of the big banks and regulators offered the royal commission when asked why misconduct was allowed to occur. Leaders from AMP, ANZ, National Australia Bank and the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) took the stand at this week’s public hearings in Sydney. Here is a breakdown of some of the evidence they gave: What does drift fishing have to do with it? National Australia Bank CEO Andrew Thorburn offered drift fishing – a hobby of his – as an analogy to help explain why he thinks … Continued
The week that was: royal commission hears from CBA, Westpac & ASIC
The corporate regulator’s reluctance to pursue the major banks, Commonwealth Bank’s sale of dubious insurance policies and Westpac’s opposition to a number of potential industry reforms were among the key issues heard during the banking royal commission’s latest public hearings. The first week of the seventh and final round of the commission’s hearings focused on finding answers to what was causing misconduct and how the regulators dealt with the misconduct. Commonwealth Bank’s and Westpac’s chief executives and the head of ASIC were among a number of industry players to take the stand this week. Here is an overview of some of the key evidence … Continued
Big 4 banks' bosses to face final royal commission round
The four major banks’ chief executives will give evidence during the banking royal commission’s final round of public hearings, due to start on Monday. The final two-week round follows six other rounds of hearings and nearly 12 months of work by the royal commission into a string of misconduct and conduct that falls below community standards uncovered across the financial sector. NAB’s CEO Andrew Thorburn and Chairman Ken Henry, Commonwealth Bank’s CEO Matt Comyn and Chair Catherine Livingstone, ANZ CEO Shayne Elliott and Westpac CEO Brian Hartzer are expected to appear, as are representatives from the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) and the … Continued
Falling house prices will erode home equity, Roy Morgan warns
The number of homeowners with mortgages that dwarf their home values is expected to rise as house prices continue to fall in Australia’s two biggest property markets, research group Roy Morgan has warned. Roy Morgan has estimated, based off its survey of more than 10,000 mortgagors, that 386,000 owner occupiers have “no real equity” in their home, which means the value of their homes were either equal to or less than the size of their home loans. That equates to almost 9% of the 4.3 million owner occupiers with mortgages and is up by about 1% from a year ago, according to … Continued
RC report: Why the misconduct? "The answer seems to be greed"
Banking Royal Commissioner Kenneth Hayne has blamed greed for the financial sector’s misconduct because “how else is charging continuing advice fees to the dead to be explained?” The Royal Commission into Misconduct in the Banking, Superannuation and Financial Services Industry released its interim report this afternoon. Commissioner Hayne posed two main questions in the report’s executive summary: why did it happen and what now? “Too often, the answer seems to be greed – the pursuit of short term profit at the expense of basic standards of honesty,” Hayne’s report said. “How else is charging continuing advice fees to the dead to be … Continued
AMP joins CBA & ANZ as a major lender to cut rates
AMP has reduced interest rates on a number of its home loans, following rate hikes to some of their products last month. The cuts apply mostly to investor loans and come after AMP increased rates in July for some owner-occupied principal & interest loans by 0.08 percentage points and owner-occupied interest-only and investment loans by 0.17 percentage points. AMP Bank’s latest rate moves, ranging from cuts of 0.02 percentage points to 0.30 percentage points, also follows rate cuts by Commonwealth Bank, ANZ and NAB’s UBank in July and August. Its largest cuts apply to investor loans, including to its interest-only variable loan for investors borrowing more than $750,000 … Continued
What type of home loan is right for first home buyers?
When it comes to buying your first home, choosing the right mortgage can be a minefield. How do different types of home loans work for first home buyers?
July RBA decision: Cash rate steady but home loan rates rising anyway
The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) has left the cash rate on hold again at 1.50%, but an increase in funding costs has led to some lenders raising home loan interest rates anyway. What’s the June 2018 RBA Cash Rate? In its sixth meeting of the year, the RBA board agreed to leave the cash rate on hold at 1.50%. This marks the 21st meeting in a row the RBA held rates steady, with the last rate movement taking place in August 2016 with a 0.25% rate cut. Canstar Group Executive of Financial Services Steve Mickenbecker said weak wages growth was keeping the cash rate … Continued
Global Financial Crisis - What caused it and how the world responded
The global financial crisis (GFC) or global economic crisis is commonly believed to have begun in July 2007 with the credit crunch
Revealed: Top 40 property hot spots to watch in Australia
First home buyers looking for more affordable opportunities in regional areas might be interested in new research from property market analysts who have identified 40 locations around Australia that are reportedly set to thrive. Market research and buyers’ agency firm Propertyology analysed annual days-on-market and sales volume data for all 550 city councils across Australia, excluding the ACT. According to Propertyology’s Head of Property Market Research Simon Pressley, the data revealed 40 locations that are likely to experience price growth due to tightening markets. Making the cut were locations that experienced significant falls in the average selling period over 2017 or demonstrated … Continued
Is this Australia's most luxe cubby house?
It’s every kid’s dream to have their own magical space to play, away from parents, chores and any hint of the mundane and unadventurous. Lucky for two-year-old April, her mum has a wicked sense of style and her grandfather is a pretty skillful handyman. Cute printed flags adorn April’s cubby house (Source: Natacha Murphy). Last year Brisbane stylist and director of Brisbane Fashion Month Laura Churchill went on a mission to design and build (with the help of some talented family members) a lovely cubby house for her daughter April. And not your typical riff-raff assembly of a few shabby pieces of … Continued
How much will your mortgage really cost?
Even if home loan interest rates are low, your mortgage can still cost you plenty of money over time. One of the main determining factors of the cost of your mortgage is the interest rate. Even though home loan interest rates are comparatively low at the moment, a mortgage can end up costing you a lot of money in repayments and fees over 25 or 30 years. Average cost of a 25-year standard variable mortgage The average cost of a 25-year variable mortgage on a loan of $300,000 at the current average standard variable interest rate on Canstar’s database of 4.42% … Continued
Canstar's 2018 Package Home Loan Star Ratings
Canstar researched and compared 59 home loan products across 40 providers to determine this year’s 5-Star recipients for Outstanding Value in our 2018 Home Loan Package Star Rating. Canstar’s Package Home Loans Star Ratings are calculated using a sophisticated and unique ratings methodology that compares both price and features across packaged banking products. Canstar’s Star Ratings represent a shortlist of financial providers, assisting consumers by narrowing their search to products that represent outstanding value. Canstar’s 2018 Best Home Loan Packages After crunching the data, Canstar has announced four 5-Star recipients for Outstanding Value in this year’s Star Rating (listed here in … Continued
What First Home Buyers Need To Know In 2017
Looking to buy your first home? Here are some of the trends to be aware of in 2017, according to Canstar. Buying your first home has never been easy. The Baby Boomers might talk about Millennials having as much of a chance of home ownership as they did, but facts are facts: rates of first home buyers are steadily decreasing. According to revised data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) and the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) from May 2017, the number of first home buyers in Australia is close to record lows. First home buyers now account for just … Continued
Government Announces Reform Of Housing Tax Deductions
The Federal Government has released draft legislation that aims to increase the fairness of tax deductions for investment properties. The office of the Treasurer announced the draft legislation on Friday, which will limit the extent to which tax deductions can be claimed on expenses relating to property maintenance. The proposed changes are: Travel expenses associated with inspecting and maintaining properties will no longer be tax deductible (the cost of engaging third parties for property maintenance remains tax-deductible). Plant and equipment depreciation will only be tax deductible if the outlay was incurred by the current investor – depreciation of existing infrastructure cannot … Continued
The Average First Home Buyer Hasn’t Gotten Any Older
New research from the Commonwealth Bank of Australia shows that despite increasing house prices, the age of the average first home buyer hasn’t gone up lately.
Should You Hire A Property Manager?
Should you hire a property manager or manage your investment property yourself? Canstar walks you through some of the advantages and disadvantages of hiring a property manager.
Sydneys' First Home Buyers Saving 40 Years For Deposit
If you are currently gathering every cent of your savings to buy a house in the big city, you may be disappointed to hear it takes 40 years to save for a house deposit in Sydney, according to new research.
The Hidden Costs Of Building Your Own Home
Not only is the prospect of custom-designing your own family home a huge draw to thousands of Australians, but it could also be cheaper than buying. That is, as long as you avoid some of the unexpected costs of building – some of which may surprise you. There are heaps of potential hidden costs just waiting to jump out at you and destroy your building budget. Here are five common ones: 1. Soil test and contour survey Before any builder or building company will give you a fixed quote for a build, they will probably need to do soil and contour … Continued
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For those that love the detail
This advice is general and has not taken into account your objectives, financial situation or needs. Consider whether this advice is right for you.