What is negative equity? Negative equity occurs when the value of your property is less than the outstanding balance on your home loan. Ben Phillips, principal research fellow at the National Centre for Social and Economic Modelling, helped prepare an analysis which pointed to 60,000 households nationwide with negative equity. While the percentage of home …
Property growth rate in the past eight years to 2011
FIRST home buyers jumped on the state government stamp duty sweetener for property priced up to $600,000 when it was first offered in 2004. But based on Sydney’s median price, the return on their investment might not have been as much as they expected. The longest property boom on record – a decade of growth …
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The big four banks pass on the Reserve Bank’s 0.25 point cut
The Australia’s big four banks finally decided to pass on the Reserve Bank’s 0.25 point cut. ANZ move first, announcing yesterday on 08/12/2012 it would cut its standard variable home loan rate from 7.55 per cent to 7.30. Fellow Melbourne-based giant NAB followed quickly, dropping its standard rate to 7.22 per cent. Commonwealth fell into …
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$5.6 million daily rip-off by the big four banks on mortgage
Although the government repeats its demands they pass on the interest rate cuts, none of the big four banks – ANZ Bank, Commonwealth Bank, National Australia Bank or Westpac – has revealed the results of their reviews of their interest rates almost two days after the RBA’s rate reduction on 06/12/2011. Australia’s big four commercial …
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RBA cut cash rate by 25 basis points to 4.25 per cent
6 December 2011, the RBA cut the cash rate by 25 basis points to 4.25 per cent. If passed along in full by the banks, this cut will save the average mortgage holder – with a $300,000, 25-year mortgage – about $47 a month. It seems that the central bank has now shifted its stance …
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Property investment in USA – Be warned Aussie investors!
Are hundreds of Australian investors going to lose millions of dollars in the American property market? It might be! Prices for American properties are so low and the Australia dollar is so high that an investment in “the home of the brave and the land of the free” seems like a really good idea. You’ll …
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Learn how to repay your mortgage faster
How can you pay off your home mortgage or home loan faster? There are many things you can do. Here are some tips from everyday Australians who are repaying their mortgage like you. 1. Make fortnightly repayment instead of monthly. You have to take advantage of the fact there’s 12 months in the year, but …
2011 Property prices – November 2011 update on capital cities
Summary Australia capital city home prices fell by four per cent in the year to October 2011. Flat to lower house prices for the next six months or possibly the next 12 months. Australia capital city home prices fell by four per cent in the year to October 2011, after a 0.5 per cent decline …
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U.S. house prices rose slightly in the third quarter of 2011
According to Mortgage News Daily, the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s seasonally adjusted purchase only price index (HPI) shows that U.S. house prices rose slightly in the third quarter of 2011. The HPI is calculated from data on home sales obtained from Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae acquired purchase money mortgages where previous mortgages were also …
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Property investment: apartments OR houses?
Should I invest in apartments OR houses? Is a property’s value is in the land OR a property’s individual characteristics are far more important? In my opinion, the only thing that matters is what type of property will deliver a bigger return on investment in the long term. According to the Real Estate Institute of …
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Learn how to deal with noisy neighbours
What to do about noisy neighbours? Question I live in a block where, for the past year, there’s been a group of very noisy youths in one unit, shouting, swearing and talking loudly on their balcony all night, coming home at 4am and being rowdy until 8am or longer, with bottles being smashed and music. …
Should I refinance my home loan?
Don’t be afraid to refinance your home loan! Savvy home loan owners happy to refinance. The HSBC Bank Australia’s latest survey showed that home loan borrowers are confident when looking at refinancing options and will happily shop around for better rates. The survey polled over 30,000 Sydney and Melbourne respondents showing that 80 percent of …
House prices to rise up to 20% by 2014
Stable interest rates and improving economic conditions will drive house prices up by 20% in the next three years, with Perth and Sydney leading the way, a major mortgage insurer says. QBE Lenders’ Mortgage Insurance (QBE LMI), which supports lenders, has forecast price growth of up to 20 per cent in Sydney and Perth by …
VIC homeowners have lost more than $290 million over the past three years
VIC homeowners have lost more than $290 million over the past three years selling properties for less than what they paid for them. Alarming figures that point to a hidden crisis in the property market reveal 5427 vendors lost an average of $54,000 on investments gone wrong in the three years to July 2011. The …
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Some useful information about property investors in Australia
Here is some information about property investors and property investment in Australia. There are about 1.6 million taxpayers claiming negative gearing deductions. About 90 per cent of investors purchase existing properties. More than 400,000 investors own more than one investment property. One in four property investors holds their rental property for only 12 months, just …
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