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Aussie John's wealth down $150m Aussie John's wealth down $150m

oasismortgagegroup@gmail.com — 2009-05-29T11:48:20+10:00

Aussie founder John Symond has seen his personal fortune dwindle by $151m in the space of a year, according to the BRW 200 Rich List.

The influential list said Symond was currently worth $303m compared to $454m a year ago.

BoQ source tips merger with Suncorp

oasismortgagegroup@gmail.com — 2009-05-22T12:15:50+10:00

Its slim pickings for the Bank of Queensland and Suncorp, which appear to have no choice but to merge or suffer a competitive disadvantage to the big banks.

Sources indicated that the likelihood of a union between the two banks was made greater since the ACCC stated it would examine "very rigorously" further major bank acquisition of regional lenders.

A Business Daily source said the BoQ approached several local institutions in the last six months in an attempt to create a strategic tie, but the only option left open is Suncorp.

ASIC unveils new EDR schemes

oasismortgagegroup@gmail.com — 2009-05-19T10:13:11+10:00

By Andrea Lavigne | Tuesday, 19 May 2009
Consumers stand to benefit from new guidelines for dispute resolution schemes released by the Australian Securities and Investment Commission.

The changes coincide with the release of the draft legislation contained in the National Consumer Credit Protection Act which will require all brokers to belong to an external dispute resolution scheme in order to obtain a licence.

ASIC revised the guidelines to make all EDR forums able to hear cases up to the value of $500,000. The maximum amount EDRs will be able to award is $280,000 or $150,000 if the claims relate to insurance brokers.

EDR schemes will also be able to award interest in addition to compensation awards.

Currently, EDR scheme rules bar a complaint involving more than the applicable compensation limit.

HIA: Affordability improves to seven year high

oasismortgagegroup@gmail.com — 2009-05-19T10:11:02+10:00

By Larry Schlesinger | Monday, 18 May 2009
The March quarter improvement was on top of a 40% surge at the end of 2008.
Over the March 2009 quarter the average home loan repayment fell by 11% to $1,831 per month, significantly lower than the previous amount of $2,056. A further improvement in affordability is expected in the June quarter.

"The boosted grant which now provides a minimum of $21,000 for new homes across Australia along with the significant builder discounts on house and land packages, is increasing the number of first home buyers entering the new home market," said the HIA's Chris Lamont.

Big banks putting first homebuyers at default risk

oasismortgagegroup@gmail.com — 2009-04-14T16:48:47+10:00

Major banks are allowing first homebuyers to sign up for mortgages so big they are left paying more than half their net monthly income on loan repayments.
A survey carried out by The Weekend Australian found that the top four banks will lend up to $465,000 to a first time buyer earning a salary of $70,000 a year.

Future bank mergers unlikely - ACCC

oasismortgagegroup@gmail.com — 2009-04-14T16:48:01+10:00

Going forward the majors will have a tough time getting mergers and acquisitions across the line, according to the chairman of the ACCC.
Following the majors' refusal to pass on the latest RBA rate cuts in full, the chairman of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) Graeme Samuel, expressed concern at the state of competition in the banking sector.
"The risk is with four big banks, because of the diminished role of non-bank financial institutions, we end up with less than intense workable competition," he told the Australian Financial Review.

ABS data: First homebuyers push up mortgage sales

oasismortgagegroup@gmail.com — 2009-04-09T15:58:13+10:00

Mortgage Choice has attributed the improvement in the value of housing finance commitments in February to the "voracious appetite of first homebuyers for housing finance".

It adds further weight to calls for the government to extend the boosted FHOG or risk, what AFG called, a mortgage market "hangover".

Housing crash unlikely: RBA

oasismortgagegroup@gmail.com — 2009-03-27T11:30:55+11:00

A repeat of a US-style subprime crisis is unlikely to occur in Australia, according to the Reserve Bank of Australia's analysis of the housing sector.

In an address to the Fourth Annual Housing Congress yesterday, the RBA's head of Economic Analysis department, Anthony Richards, quelled concerns that low mortgage rates in Australia could lead to the same problems experienced in the US.

"So the question arises whether a period of low interest rates in Australia (combined with the boost in grants to first homebuyers) could lead to an expansion of lending to riskier borrowers who will only be able to afford their mortgages as long as interest rates remain low. I think there are good reasons to think this is not a major risk."

NSW cracks down on fire-sale laws

oasismortgagegroup@gmail.com — 2009-03-26T16:43:55+11:00

Coming to the rescue of defaulting homeowners, the NSW government has sprung a proposal for tighter fire-sale legislation.
Minister for Lands, Tony Kelly, told the NSW parliament that in the current climate many home owners faced the forced sale of their home through foreclosure, however it was "immoral" that they have been exposed to the risk of "unscrupulous lenders seeking to force through a fire sale of their property" the Australian Financial Review reported.

Rudd delivers gloomy recession forecast

oasismortgagegroup@gmail.com — 2009-03-23T15:54:16+11:00

The sinking state of the global economy will almost certainly pull Australia under, according to Prime Minister Kevin Rudd.

Speaking just one day before he set off for a series of international meetings to discuss the global financial crisis, Rudd said it would be virtually impossible for Australia to avoid a recession, the Australian Financial Review reported.

Are you operating in a high risk suburb?

oasismortgagegroup@gmail.com — 2009-03-18T12:24:46+11:00

A new report has revealed the suburbs in Australia most vulnerable to the current economic crisis - an indication as to where borrowers might run in to difficulty repaying their mortgages.

Developed by Griffith University and the University of Newcastle, Red alert suburbs: An employment vulnerability index for Australia's major urban regions, is searchable by city and major urban areas.

It ranks suburbs at high, medium and low risk according to the Employment Vulnerability Index (EVI) - a measure of how exposed borrowers in a particular suburb are to potential job losses and how well placed they are to escape disadvantage associated with increasing unemployment.

Suburbs at high risk in Sydney include Abbotsbury, Bonnyrigg Heights, Cabramatta, Fairfield, Rocky Point and Wakeley.

To access the report and do your own search, click here

Bluestone planning return to lending

oasismortgagegroup@gmail.com — 2009-03-12T13:04:17+11:00

Specialist lender Bluestone plans to return to mortgage lending

Group CEO, Peter McGuinness, revealed Bluestone would consider at some stage offering a web-based product, though he said it would be a far more basic product than the company has offered in the past.

Bluestone quit mortgage origination in September last year, but has reinvented itself as a third party loan servicer and boutique asset manager.

The company has also maintained strong connections with the broker market.

With a sizeable mortgage book, Bluestone continues to make substantial trail commission to brokers.

"And I am pleased to say we have had no defaults," McGuinness told Australian Broker.

"We communicate once a quarter to brokers to let them know what is going on," he said.

Bluestone also maintains a "substantial" customer service offering for brokers to help them with queries about refinancing, settlements and discharging of mortgages.

"We are very much focused on client retention," McGuinness said.

http://www.brokernews.com.au/news/breaking-news/34277/details.aspx

Broker numbers holding steady

oasismortgagegroup@gmail.com — 2009-03-09T16:42:41+11:00

Predictions that broker numbers will significantly reduce as a result of the challenging market conditions and an over-saturated market appear to be either unfounded or premature.

Expectations of anywhere from a 15% to a 50% reduction in the number of brokers have been touted regularly at conferences and in the media in the last 12 month, but neither the MFAA nor the FBAA reported any major changes to their membership numbers.

Peter White, national president of the FBAA, said member numbers had not reduced, but had instead "plateaued for the moment".

"If that's all they are doing, then I think we are OK," he told Australian Broker.

"Our inflow of members is matching our outflow."

MFAA CEO Phil Naylor said there had been a slight fall in membership (about 1%) over the last six months.

"In July 2008 we had 13,689 members of which 12,646 were accredited loan writers. At the end of January 2009 we had 13,311 members of which 12,368 were accredited loan writers," he told AB.

White said the FBAA was still getting a lot of new members as a result of bank redundancies, but not many from outside the mortgage industry.

"The flow of new members coming from outside the industry has slowed a little. It is still a component...but it's historically lower," he said.

By Larry Schlesinger

RBA leaves rates on hold

oasismortgagegroup@gmail.com — 2009-03-04T15:22:27+11:00

Update The Reserve Bank has defied expectations by leaving its key interest rate on hold for the first time in seven months as it waits for the full effect of previous rate cuts to spur the economy.

The central bank left the cash rate at 3.25%, the lowest since 1964, arguing that Australia is relatively well placed to weather the economic slowdown. Analysts had forecast at least a 0.25 percentage-point cut.

Aussie bank earnings expected to slide

oasismortgagegroup@gmail.com — 2009-02-24T16:00:20+11:00

Global ratings agency Fitch Ratings expects Australian banks' earnings to slide during the second half of fiscal 2009 as impaired assets rise and a recession in Australia sets in.

Fitch is forecasting a 0.8 per cent contraction for Australia's gross domestic product (GDP) in 2009 as consumer spending slows for the first time in 47 years and bank lending continues to contract.

The local credit crunch has seen double-digit loan contractions for owner-occupied investment, housing and commercial transactions since last June.

Big Four squeezing non-banks into mergers

oasismortgagegroup@gmail.com — 2009-02-23T15:53:44+11:00

WHEN the Bank of Queensland appointed corporate advisers in December to review acquisitions, strategic partnerships, mergers and possible takeover offers, it sent a clear message that any rival outside the Big Four banks needed a new set of tricks to compete.

Bank of Queensland chief executive David Liddy told shareholders: "To compete with the big banks, smaller banks such as BoQ, as well as credit unions and building societies, have been merging and will continue to do so."

Two weeks later, on December 24, Wizard Home Loans was sold to Commonwealth Bank and Aussie Home Loans for $26million. The remaining non-bank lenders, Resi Mortgage Corp, First Mac, Pepper Home Loans, Better Choice Home Loans, Beat Home Loans and a few others are expected to either close down or merge as credit conditions worsen.

Australia well positioned to survive global crisis: RBA

oasismortgagegroup@gmail.com — 2009-02-19T16:26:32+11:00

Reserve Bank (RBA) assistant governor Malcolm Edey says the weaker Australian dollar and the popularity of variable home loan rates have helped shield Australia from the full force of the global financial crisis.

Mr Edey gave a speech about the global economic outlook in Sydney this morning.

Picture emerges of banks' health

oasismortgagegroup@gmail.com — 2009-02-18T14:55:18+11:00

With Westpac the latest big bank to update investors, a clear picture is emerging of the health of nation's financial system.

Major banks are well capitalised; are enjoying a surge in lending and trading revenue. Interest margins are under pressure, but are being contained.

Of course all of this has been overshadowed by rapidly rising provisions over recent months, which combined with wealth management markdowns are pulling down cash earnings and potentially crimping dividends.

BA eyes more rate cuts

oasismortgagegroup@gmail.com — 2009-02-17T15:45:50+11:00

Update The Reserve Bank has highlighted recent sharp drops in global spending and business activity, suggesting more interest rate cuts to come as the bank battles to avert a recession in Australia.

The RBA also noted in minutes released from its February board meeting that the market was now expecting interest rates to ''trough'' at 2% later this year, without specifying its own plans.

Fire victims' mortgage reality hits home

oasismortgagegroup@gmail.com — 2009-02-13T09:09:14+11:00

It is difficult to describe the predicament facing the people of Kinglake.

On the one hand they are deep in grief over the loss of friends and relatives, neighbours and acquaintances from their town.

They have got a massive clean-up in front of them, funerals to attend and children to care for. And then there are other old echoes of their previous lives.

Different banks seem to have different ideas about how the bushfire survivors should go about resuming mortgage repayments on houses that no longer exist.

Matt Falla says he is lucky his house survived, but just when he is getting back on his feet, he has had to worry about his mortgage.

Mortgage market recovers as first homebuyers fire up the market

oasismortgagegroup@gmail.com — 2009-02-12T11:40:53+11:00

After diving most of 2008, the number of loans committed for housing is now on the way up, according to the latest data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

The total value of owner-occupied housing commitments jumped by 7.1% in December 2008 compared to a 1.6% rise in November 2008. The largest increase in home loan volumes has been for the purchase of new dwellings, where on a seasonally adjusted basis the number of housing loans for newly constructed dwellings soared 15.2% over the month.

Mortgage Choice managing director Paul Lahiff said: "With the third consecutive month of data showing improved housing finance demand across major categories, we are confident the industry has passed a crossroads and is heading in the right direction, at least until the First Home Owner Boost has run its course".

Rate cuts boost home loan approvals

oasismortgagegroup@gmail.com — 2009-02-11T16:33:20+11:00

Home-loan approvals gained in December as consumers warmed to lower interest rates and Government packages aimed at helping people buy houses.

The number of home loans, seasonally adjusted, gained 6.4% in December from the previous month, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics. Analysts surveyed by Bloomberg were expecting a 3.5% increase in the month, reflecting the easing credit conditions.

The December rise marks the third consecutive month of gains in home-loan approvals, as interest rate cuts and a $10.4 billion Government stimulus package - aimed in part at home buyers - begins to get traction.

Thousands trapped in a costly mortgage fix

oasismortgagegroup@gmail.com — 2009-02-09T09:19:05+11:00

TWELVE months ago, everyone was told to cut spending to help save Australia's economy. Now the Federal Government can't get us to spend enough.

What a difference a year makes.

The Rudd Government is spending big and plunging the country into debt to give us money. It's then encouraging us to spend.

At the same time, mortgage repayments are falling, with last week's drop in interest rates giving households even more money to spend.

But not everyone is smiling.

Housing stimulus is working: broker

oasismortgagegroup@gmail.com — 2009-02-06T09:04:01+11:00

The proportion of mortgages taken out by first time home buyers have doubled in Victoria since the expansion of the first time home owners grant in October, according to a report.

Sales of mortgages to first time home-buyers jumped to 25.3% of total mortgages in December, from 13.8% in September, according to the AFG Mortgage Index, released today.

"Younger people with reasonably secure jobs have become an important force in the property market during the past few months," said Mark Hewitt, general manager of sales and operations at mortgage broker Australian Finance Group in a statement.

Travel carefully on reverse mortgage road

oasismortgagegroup@gmail.com — 2009-02-05T09:44:43+11:00

AS financial gales whirl about our ears, older Australians in search of funds increasingly have turned to reverse mortgages. Often it is a stop-gap measure until super balances recover and can provide a source of cash.

Yet everyday reverse mortgages may become harder to get, or more expensive, because of falling property prices that have prompted a wave of lenders to stop offering the product.

Financial firm Canstar Cannex has announced, for example, that that it will no longer rate reverse mortgage products, citing eight lenders, including Macquarie Bank and Bluestone, that have left the market or stopped promoting new loans in the past six months.

Rate cuts to save $128 a month off average SA home loan

oasismortgagegroup@gmail.com — 2009-02-04T09:04:24+11:00

MEREDITH BOOTH, SARAH MARTIN

ANZ and Westpac have each dropped their standard variable home loan rate by a full percentage point to 5.91 per cent in response to today's Reserve Bank decision.

The Reserve this afternoon slashed interest rates by one percentage point to 3.25 per cent - expected to save the typical SA household $154 a month in mortgage repayments.

The decision, made today at 2pm Adelaide time, would bring total monthly savings to more than $634 on a typical SA mortgage of $250,000 since the RBA first cut rates in September 2008 - if banks pass on the cut in full.

Reserve Bank cuts interest rates to 3.25pc

oasismortgagegroup@gmail.com — 2009-02-03T16:18:00+11:00

* Interest rates cut to 3.25pc
* Cash rate now at 40-year low
* Stimulus: Rudd's $42bn cash boost

THE Reserve Bank has cut interest rates by 100 basis points to 3.25 per cent, citing a "significant deterioration" in world economic conditions since late last year.

Interest rates are now at their lowest point in 45 years.

Australian housing a survivor on the world stage

oasismortgagegroup@gmail.com — 2009-02-02T09:14:16+11:00

Anne Davies

AUSTRALIA may be heading into recession but its housing market will fare much better than other countries, the International Monetary Fund says.

Unlike property markets in the US and Europe, which have experienced 40 per cent drops in prices as the housing bubble is pricked, Australia is not suffering from the same magnitude of inflated house prices, or the same sort of collapse once the bubble burst, says the IMF's Asia and Pacific Department's division chief, Ray Brooks.

How to combat mortgage stress

oasismortgagegroup@gmail.com — 2009-01-30T09:38:16+11:00

By Gillian Bullock, ninemsn Money

While the cash interest rate may be on the way down this year, commercial banks may not mirror the Reserve Bank's moves, so how can you make your current home loan more manageable?

Warren O'Rourke, national manager corporate affairs at Mortgage Choice, believes there are a number of ways to reduce the pressure.

The tale of two property investors

oasismortgagegroup@gmail.com — 2009-01-29T10:37:26+11:00

Two groups of property investors wish to withdraw their funds from the sector. The first group are the investors in mortgage trusts who wanted to to redeem their shares in those trusts in November 2008. The second group are the international banks which we are told wish to withdraw from syndicated loans to property investment companies. The contrast in the Federal Government’s assistance to these investors is quite interesting.

The Government guarantee of Australian bank deposits was introduced in October of last year. Soon after the mortgage trusts and other property trusts ran into difficulty meeting requests for redemption of units. Many of the trusts were unable to free up enough cash and were forced to freeze redemptions.

Rate cuts promise $1000 in pockets

oasismortgagegroup@gmail.com — 2009-01-29T09:25:14+11:00

MORTGAGE holders will be about $1000 a month better off in total next week, as the Reserve Bank resumes its most aggressive interest rate-cutting campaign in decades against the most bleak global economic backdrop since World War II.

The biggest three-month fall in the cost of living for more than a decade has raised expectations of another full percentage point interest rate cut on Tuesday.

Full Story

Mortgage stress easing for some, but with further pain likely, Rudd's handout went straight to the bank for many.

oasismortgagegroup@gmail.com — 2009-01-28T09:59:20+11:00

n January 2009, households in Mortgage stress fell 6% from December with 635,000 households in some degree of pain, compared with a peak of 900,000 in August 2008. Significantly there was a 15% fall in those facing a potential sale or foreclosure, thanks to the significant drop in interest rates, and the government payments in December. Young Families and First Time Buyers experienced significant reductions in stress. 161,000 households still are at risk of having to sell up or loose their homes.

Mortgage arrears hit all-time high

oasismortgagegroup@gmail.com — 2008-06-22T16:18:35+10:00

Arrears in Australia for securitised mortgages increased to 1.45 per cent during April, its highest ever recorded level, said Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services (S&PRS).

Securitised mortgages are those 20 per cent of mortgages where the funding is sourced from wholesale debt markets as opposed to traditional banking deposits while the arrears measures means borrowers are more than 30 days late on payments.

Arrears level for sub-prime Australian loans is ten times higher at 14.7 per cent, reported S&PRS. Sub-prime loans in Australia however only make up a tiny minority of the mortgage market, estimated at only a one to two per cent in Australia compared to the 15 per cent proportion they constitute in the US.

Click here for full story

Money Talk Tougher Than Sex Talk

oasismortgagegroup@gmail.com — 2008-06-22T16:08:03+10:00

Sandra Saker, who is Moneycare's manager for the greater west, said there was a ``tsunami of debt'' facing families in western Sydney and people needed to seek help early when it was possible to do something and not let difficulties escalated.

She said people had to bite the bullet and see a financial counsellor.

Several welfare groups like the Salvos provide free financial counselling services, which advise people on their options, and deal with creditors on their behalf.

Click here for full story

'Mortgage mates' new breed of homeowners

oasismortgagegroup@gmail.com — 2008-06-22T16:06:44+10:00

MANY Queensland first home buyers have become "mortgage mates" - the new property industry term for friends and family members who team up to beat soaring house prices and interest rates.
Low housing affordability has created a new crop of first-time property buyers in partnership with siblings, friends and colleagues to share the financial burden of ownership, the Real Estate Institute of Queensland says.

Institute managing director Dan Molloy said the number of first home buyers had dropped over the past year but many had used creative techniques to enter the market.
Click here for full story

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